US President Joe Biden decided to leave the political arena, although after the disastrous debate he assured that he was not going to go anywhere and could defeat his rival Donald Trump. Never before in American politics has a president dropped out of a re-election race so close to Election Day.
Biden could not resist the onslaught behind the scenes and in public
Every day the number of those supporting Biden in the presidential race was decreasing more and more. His circle was reduced to his closest aides and family members.
But in the end, the pressure on Biden from party leaders, rank-and-file lawmakers and donors, and polls showing Biden faces a potentially insurmountable path, proved too much.
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On Sunday, July 21, Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris, hoping to quickly unify his party and overcome chaos among Democrats. As for Trump, he is at the height of his campaign, especially after the attempt on his life.
How the decision was made to withdraw Biden
Biden's final decision to withdraw from the race was made in the last 48 hours as he consulted with his family and his advisers, a senior campaign adviser said. A source familiar with the matter said plans to withdraw from the race emerged on Saturday evening, July 20, and were finalized on Sunday, July 21.
Biden's decision is not related to any health issues, a senior White House official told CNN.
So on Saturday, Biden met with two of his closest advisers, and the polling information they provided showed Biden's path to victory was virtually non-existent.
The information underscored that the campaign's path to recovery has been severely undermined by declining poll numbers nationally and in swing states. Before the end of the meeting, Biden made it clear that he planned to withdraw from the race and asked his aides to begin drafting a letter to that effect, which he released on Sunday afternoon.
Biden consulted with very few close aides about the decision. Some members of his circle remained in the dark until the statement was published.
Signs of problems
It's worth noting that more than three dozen Democrats have publicly called on him to drop out of the race. The party told him that he could not win. And money from donors was drying up. Biden's main problem with voters was that they didn't think he could do the job over the next four years. And no policy, no statements or criticism of Trump could change this.
Even as Biden insisted that nothing could convince him to drop out of the race, Democrats were already thinking about it.
So, Senator Mark Warner from Virginia was quietly trying to gather a group of Democrats who could, at a meeting with Biden, urge him to leave the race. However, this idea died out when they found out about it.
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries held a meeting with party members, at which several lawmakers said Biden should resign. Soon calls for withdrawal began to be heard outside Washington. On July 10, George Clooney wrote an article in the New York Times calling for Biden to resign.
Connecticut Rep. James Himes, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, also called on Biden to drop out of the race. More Democrats were expected to publicly demand Biden's resignation, but all talk stopped when Trump was stabbed at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. There was a barrage of questions from people about how the shooter was able to shoot Trump five days before he was to accept the nomination.
Democratic donors are also rebelling
Representative Nancy Pelosi privately told Biden that polls showed he couldn't beat Trump. Biden responded that he had seen polls indicating that he could win. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told Biden during their meeting Saturday that it would be best if he dropped out of the presidential race.
Major Democratic donors are reportedly skeptical about the viability of Biden's race. Some told House and Senate Democratic campaign committees they would freeze contributions until party leaders force Biden to resign.
At the same time, in anticipation of Biden's decision to withdraw from the race, several donors contacted Kamala Harris' team in advance to say they were ready to support her.
