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Utah Democrats praise Biden following his decision to leave the presidential race

FILE - President Joe Biden speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington. President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, July 21, ending his bid for reelection following a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about his fitness for office just four months before the election.
Evan Vucci
/
AP, file
FILE - President Joe Biden speaks in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House, Feb. 8, 2024, in Washington. President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, July 21, ending his bid for reelection following a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about his fitness for office just four months before the election.

President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, ending his bid for reelection after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about the incumbent's fitness for office with the election just four months away. It was a late-season campaign thunderstrike unlike any in American history.

The decision comes after escalating pressure from Biden’s Democratic allies to step aside following the June 27 debate, in which the 81-year-old president trailed off, often gave nonsensical answers and failed to call out the former president’s many falsehoods. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to take on Trump, and encouraged his party to unite behind her.

Biden plans to serve out the remainder of his term in office, which ends at noon ET on Jan. 20, 2025.

“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," Biden wrote in a letter posted to his X account.

Nearly 30 minutes later, Biden threw his support behind Harris, the party’s instant favorite for the nomination at its August convention in Chicago.

“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year," he said in another post on X. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”

Harris praised Biden's “selfless and patriotic act” in a statement, and said she intends to “earn and win" her party's nomination. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” she said.

In Utah, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian King called the move "an act of public good over personal interest."

"I am excited to see our country come together to nominate a candidate and to continue the commonsense, good governance that the Biden Administration has started," he said on X.

Biden's decision came as he has been isolating at his Delaware beach house after being diagnosed with COVID-19 last week, huddling with a shrinking circle of close confidants and family members about his political future. Biden said he would address the nation later this week to provide “detail” about his decision.

Senior campaign and White House staff were notified just minutes before the letter went out, according to people familiar with the matter. Biden had been reflecting on his future for the past couple days and the decision was closely held.

The White House confirmed the authenticity of the letter.

The announcement is the latest jolt to a campaign for the White House that both political parties see as the most consequential election in generations, coming just days after the attempted assassination of Trump at a Pennsylvania rally.

A party’s presumptive presidential nominee has never stepped out of the race so close to the election. The closest parallel would be President Lyndon Johnson who, besieged by the Vietnam War, announced in March 1968 that he would not seek another term.

Now, Democrats have to urgently try to bring coherence to the nominating process in a matter of weeks and persuade voters in a stunningly short amount of time that their nominee can handle the job and beat Trump. And for his part, Trump must shift his focus to a new opponent after years of training his attention on Biden.

The decision marks a swift and stunning end to Biden’s 52 years in electoral politics, as donors, lawmakers and even aides expressed to him their doubts that he could convince voters that he could plausibly handle the job for another four years.

Biden won the vast majority of delegates and every nominating contest but one, which would have made his nomination a formality. Now that he has dropped out, those delegates will be free to support another candidate.

Harris, 59, appeared to be the natural successor, in large part because she is the only candidate who can directly tap into the Biden campaign’s war chest, according to federal campaign finance rules.

Biden’s backing helps clear the way for Harris, but a smooth transition is by no means assured.

When Utah's Brian King was asked whether he would support Harris as the nominee, he said he would "if that's who the delegates choose."

The Democratic National Convention is scheduled to be held Aug. 19-22 in Chicago, but the party had announced that it would hold a virtual roll call to formally nominate Biden before in-person proceedings begin.

It remained to be seen whether other candidates would challenge Harris for the nomination. The Democratic National Committee's chair, Jaime Harrison, said in a statement that the party would “undertake a transparent and orderly process" to select "a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”

Trump reacted to the news in a post on his Truth Social site, in which he said Biden “was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve.”

“We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly,” he added. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

While Trump and his team had made their preference for facing Biden clear, his campaign had nonetheless ramped up its attacks on Harris as pressure on Biden to step down intensified.

Democratic officials, including many who were behind the effort to push Biden from the race, quickly released statements praising Biden's decision.

“His decision of course was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party, and our future first,” said Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. “Joe, today shows you are a true patriot and great American.”

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York praised Biden as “one of the most accomplished and consequential leaders in American history.”

Some prominent Democrats moved to endorse Harris, who hadn't yet commented publicly on Biden's decision to step aside or formally stated she is running to succeed him.

“We are honored to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her,” former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement.

But former President Barack Obama, who had privately shared doubts about Biden's reelection chances, stopped short of endorsing Harris even as he praised Biden for his decision to leave the race.

“I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” he said in a statement.

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson said Biden should immediately resign if he is not fit enough to run for office. In a statement, Johnson said “November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.”

The Utah Democratic Party called Biden "one of the greatest leaders our country has known." In a press release, they pointed to, among other things, his work on the economy, reproductive freedoms and civil rights.

Luz Escamilla is Minority Leader of the Utah Senate. She praised Biden's decision to step down.

"We also recognize all that he has done for Utah and Utahns, including investments in our state's infrastructure and rural energy, which have greatly enhanced the overall quality of life in our state," Escamilla said on X. "His decision embodies the values of our party and mirrors the strength of our nation — that we prioritize the overall progress of the country over personal gain."

KUER’s Elaine Clark and Tilda Wilson contributed to this report.

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