President Joe Biden of the United States decided to withdraw from the race for reelection on Sunday. This decision came after a string of calculated gaffes by White House staffers and his campaign team raised doubts about the 81-year-old president’s ability to win in November and serve as leader of the nation for an additional four years.
Even some of Mr. Biden’s closest allies questioned if he could last the duration of a campaign after his halting performance against Republican contender Donald Trump during the June 27 presidential debate.
In actuality, that incident fueled a simmering Democratic party movement that questioned the viability of his second term. In a matter of days, Mr. Biden transformed from the party’s leading figure to an asset. Since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, he became the first incumbent president to withdraw from consideration for reelection.
These were a few of the pivotal events that preceded Biden’s resignation.
Despite concerns from some of his Democratic allies that a debate might not help him at all or perhaps paint him in a negative light, Mr. Biden himself started the debate when he told radio personality Howard Stern in April that he would take on Mr. Trump.
When Mr. Biden’s advisers agreed to a June debate, some of them felt they had pulled off a coup. They collaborated with CNN to reshape the regulations to their perceived advantage, and on May 15th, they decided to hold two discussions, the first of which would take place on June 27.
Some advisers believed that Mr. Biden would benefit from an earlier debate by persuading voters that there was no other opponent of Trump in the election and by mitigating the damage from any subpar performance on the president’s part.
They believed that the format, which included mute buttons on the microphones, no third-party candidates, moderators they could trust, and no audience to amplify Mr. Trump’s punchlines, would favor Mr. Biden’s style.
Mr. Biden took only a few days off at his vacation house in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after taking two flights to Europe and spending more than 14 days on the West Coast. Several people who saw Mr. Biden during this time reported that toward the end of the trip, he was exhausted and dragged.
On June 21, he and his assistants left for Camp David for intensive preparation sessions where they barraged Mr. Biden with details and spent the next five days practicing mock debates.
In the CNN studios in Atlanta, Mr. Biden stammered and lost his thread of thought. Reporters took notice of his voice, look, and delivery right away and questioned his assistants about it.
As the debate got began, officials broke some additional information to reporters: Mr. Biden had a cold. As the debate continued, Mr. Biden’s hoarseness would get better, but Democratic officials, fundraisers, and voters were caught off guard by his rambling responses.
It was dubbed “a disaster” by a Democratic strategist.
During the 90-minute discussion, Mr. Trump, 78, reiterated a number of blatantly incorrect statements that he had truly won the 2020 election.
Mr. Biden did not successfully counter them, leaving phrases and ideas hanging.
Taking aim at Mr. Biden’s lack of coherence, Mr. Trump remarked, “I really don’t know what he said at the end of that sentence.” I doubt that he is aware of what he said.
In an admission of bad performance the day after the debate, Mr. Biden remarked, “I know I’m not a young man, to state the obvious.”
On July 2, he said, “Nearly fell asleep on stage.”
The hours following the debate would see the beginning of calls for Mr. Biden’s resignation.
Days later, frightened Democrats facing re-election campaigns and seeing their political fates flash before their eyes would begin receiving calls from Mr. Biden’s staff.
Beginning on July 2 with U.S. Representative Lloyd Doggett, a few politicians began to break ranks and gained momentum.
Donors furious with Mr. Biden informed his staff that they would require a change in the candidate’s performance.
Senior Democrats and supporters of Mr. Biden also started to make suggestions about modifications to the ticket.
Jim Clyburn, a Democrat from the House of Representatives and somewhat of a kingmaker inside the Democratic Party who helped Mr. Biden win the 2020 election, announced on July 2 that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris in the event if Mr. Biden resigned. He also proposed the concept of a “mini-primary” in such scenario.
Longtime supporter of Joe Biden, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, stated it was reasonable to inquire as to whether Mr. Biden’s Atlanta performance was a “episode” or a requirement.
She also made a suggestion that Mr. Biden should reconsider his decision to continue running.
Mr. Biden would not be able to silence the protestors.
On July 5, in his first significant interview following the debate, Mr. Biden told ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos that he could only be eliminated from the race by the “Lord Almighty.”
The statement made by Mr. Biden that he could accept losing to Mr. Trump “as long as I gave it my all and I did as good a job as I know I can do” alarmed some Democrats more than anything else.
Over the course of the 24 hours that followed the debate, no less than 36 Democratic members of Congress and one independent who supports the Democrats would finally demand that Mr. Biden resign from office.
Biden made an effort to move on. During the campaign trail and at the NATO summit of the United States’ allies, he conducted interviews, hosted a news conference, and delivered tough speeches.
However, on occasion, the incidents sparked more worries than they allayed.
During the NATO meeting that took place in the second week of July, namely from July 9 to July 12, Mr. Biden confused the names of Ms. Harris, Mr. Trump, the Republican opponent, and Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the president of Ukraine, with Vladimir Putin, the president of Russia, whose nations are at war.
In several crucial states and districts that Democrats must win in November, polls showed Mr. Biden lagging behind other Democrats, even if national surveys continued to indicate a close contest.
Unfazed, Mr. Biden continued to believe, supported by a close circle of aides, that he was the ideal candidate to take on Mr. Trump and that he could overcome this setback, just as he had many times in the past.
While giving a speech in Pennsylvania, Mr. Trump was shot.
Photos of the former president raising his fist in defiance were widely circulated after the bullet left his face bleeding and with a gash on his ear.
Republicans united behind their candidate, citing divine providence, while Democrats feared that their own hopes were doomed and saw only a more difficult path to victory in November.
Mr. Biden passed away from COVID-19 a few days later while running for office in Nevada. A moment later, he acquiesced to the chorus of voices and moved aside.
