In a “July Surprise”, President Joe Biden, having defeated former President Donald Trump in 2020, announced on Sunday morning that despite receiving the Democratic nomination for 2024, he will not continue his run for a second term as president. Biden further announced that he is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his pick to replace him as the Democratic nominee. On his X account, (formerly Twitter) Biden wrote:
“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. 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.”
Over the past month, 40 Democrats and others within the party were progressively louder in their requests for Biden to drop his bid. While recuperating in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after testing positive for Covid-19 while in Las Vegas, Nevada, Biden made a decision. After a forceful refusal, on Sunday, the president announced the end of his bid. The “July Surprise” occurs five weeks before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from August 19 to 22.
