In a statement released on X at 11:46 a.m., he said “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.” 

With only four months until the November 5 election, Biden is the first candidate to drop out this late. Most officials were not informed of his decision until around a minute before he posted about it on social media, according to a New York Times report.

About half an hour after the initial announcement, Biden released a second statement on X backing up Vice President Kamala Harris.

Though Biden’s exit was sudden, both Republicans and Democrats had been pushing for him to drop out of the election since the June 27 presidential debate. After Biden’s slower performance and forgetfulness when facing former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump, concerns about how his age might negatively impact the presidency rose to a head. 

The Associated Press reported that nearly three dozen Democrat lawmakers publicly pushed Biden to end his campaign. Now that he has, a growing number of Democrats have expressed their support of his judgment.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) said in a statement that “Joe Biden has not only been a great president and a great legislative leader but he is a truly amazing human being. His decision of course was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party and our future first.”

Key leaders, such as former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and Bill and Hillary Clinton, have commented in support of Biden as well, though not all of them have publicly backed up Harris as a new nominee. 

On the other hand, some Republicans have called for Biden to also drop the rest of his term as president. 

“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said.

Trump has posted to Truth Social, the platform he founded in 2022, multiple times about the Biden administration since Biden stepped down from his campaign. He said in a July 21 post that  “Crooked Joe 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.”

Now, the Democrat party must find a new nominee. Harris is currently in the lead for this position, especially as she is the only potential candidate, by federal law, who has access to Biden’s old campaign funds. She inherited over 1000 staff members and $96 million this way.

“My intention is to earn and win this nomination,” Harris said in a statement on Sunday. 

Over the course of a day, Harris’ campaign gathered more volunteers and support than it had when Biden was still the candidate. In 24 hours, she received $81 million in funding. 

Harris must now find a running mate for vice president and gather enough delegates’ support in time for the Democratic National Convention, where the new presidential ticket will be chosen. So far, over 1300 of the delegates have officially backed her campaign, which is over 2⁄3 of the support she needs already. 

The Associated Press reported that Harris has also been endorsed by many major Democratic political organizations, such as the AAPI Victory Fund; the Collective PAC, which focuses on Black people having more political power; the Latino Victory Fund and the chairmen of several Congressional Caucuses. She has, furthermore, been publicly supported by former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as well as other key Democratic figures who are potential running mates for Harris.

These politicians partly supported Harris so quickly because Congress wanted to end the period of instability that Biden’s decision had caused. In addition, Democrats encouraged others to endorse her because Harris, being younger, a woman and a mixed-race minority, was a dramatic change in candidates in comparison to both Trump and Biden.

In a campaign advertisement from 2019, when she was last running for presidential nomination, the video narrator said that, “in every possible way, [Harris] is the anti-Trump. So if that’s what you’re looking for in your next president, there’s really only one — Kamala.”

Republicans argue that Harris’ candidacy is not so monumental. Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, two of Trump’s senior advisors, pointed out in a statement that Biden and Harris ran together on the Democratic ticket; they argue that their similar policy ideas and campaigns may therefore mean Harris is not a better nominee. 

Most criticisms from Republicans against Harris, though, stem from immigration policy and border security, issues that she was tasked to work on throughout Biden’s presidency. Some have called her a “border czar” and worry about border safety under her potential administration.

Senior advisor Tony Fabrizio said that, despite these concerns, Trump’s platform is ready to campaign against Harris and had even prepared anti-Harris videos and advertisements in advance in case Biden stepped down.

Harris, in turn, has said that she wants to “unite our [Democratic] party, unite our nation, and defeat Donald Trump in November.”

The Democratic National Convention will take place in Chicago from August 19-22, where delegates will vote on the next official presidential candidate.