Biden Drops Out of 2024 Presidential Race, Wants Kamala Harris to Be Nominee: 'It Is in the Best Interest' (UPDATE)

UPDATED 7/23, 7:30 a.m. ET: Kamala Harris is now the presumptive Democratic nominee.

In a statement shared Monday evening, Harris looked ahead to "formally accepting the nomination soon," adding that she was "grateful" for Biden’s early support.

"This election will present a clear choice between two different visions," Harris wrote. "Donald Trump wants to take our country back to a time before many of us had full freedoms and equal rights. I believe in a future that strengthens our democracy, protects reproductive freedom, and ensures every person has the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead."

To be the presumptive nominee means that Harris has the number of pledged delegates needed to secure her party’s nomination. Per the Associated Press, Harris passed that threshold on Monday night.

See original story below.

Biden is out of the race.

The President took to social media on Sunday to share a letter outlining his decision, writing that he believes "it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term."

He also added that he will address his decision to bow out of the 2024 presidential election in greater detail in the coming days.

Shortly after sharing the bombshell news, Biden, as was expected, said that he wants Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic party nominee for 2024. It's important to note that Harris has yet to become the official nominee for the Democratic party and that Biden has only endorsed her.

"My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term," Biden wrote. "My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this."

Bill and Hillary Clinton also released a statement endorsing Harris to be the 2024 nominee.

Donald Trump responded to the explosive news of Biden dropping out on Truth Social, writing, "Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve - And never was!"

Trump continued, "He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement. All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t."

For many, the move was a long time coming, as confidence in Biden’s path to victory in November had waned dramatically following an undeniably disappointing debate performance and similar gaffes. In short, what was previously touted to be a slam dunk election (incumbents typically win) has recently been drained of confidence, and not just in the opinion of talking heads.

"Lifelong Democrat" George Clooney, whose decades-strong history of extensive fundraising for top Democrats is well-documented, shared an op-ed not long after the aforementioned debate against previous single-term POTUS Donald Trump in which he directly urged Biden to end his campaign. To illustrate his stance, the Oscar-winning actor detailed what he says he saw firsthand at a recent fundraising event.

"In the last four years, he’s won many of the battles he’s faced," Clooney wrote in the New York Times. "But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. None of us can. It’s devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe 'big F-ing deal' Biden of 2010. He wasn’t even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."

These words echoed the concerns of others, including many presumed or would-be voters. While the bar is indeed low, what with all that's transpired over the past eight years, the sentiment repeated most often post-debate was that Biden could very well lose against a recently convicted Trump in the 2024 election.

There will be much talk of precariousness of in the coming days, though it's worth pointing out that this isn’t entirely without precedent. Still, regardless of what happens next, one thing remains clear: A considerable portion of the American people feel firmly that the prospective leaders vying for their votes aren't tuned in to their day-to-day struggles, nor are they convincing in their claims of wanting to right recent wrongs.

With disillusionment understandably rampant, the full impact of Biden's decision remains to be seen.

Read Biden's letter in full below.

My Fellow Americans,




Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation.




Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We've made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We've provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.




I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We've protected and preserved our Democracy. And we've revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.




It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.




I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.




For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.




I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can't do - when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.