President and former Penn professor Joe Biden has ended his reelection campaign.
Credit: Son NguyenThis story is developing and will continue to be updated.
President and former Benjamin Franklin Presidential Professor of Practice Joe Biden has conceded the 2024 Democratic nomination for president.
Biden’s decision, which was announced on Sunday via a statement on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, is unprecedented and marks the first time the presidential nominee of a major party has dropped out during their general election campaign. Biden’s decision follows weeks of increasing pressure and scrutiny after his flawed performance at the June 27 presidential debate.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden wrote in the announcement. “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.”
In a separate statement on social media, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the nominee, writing that selecting her as his vice president in 2020 has "been the best decision [he's] made."
"Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year," he wrote. "Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this."
Biden wrote that he will “speak to the Nation” this week “in more detail about [his] decision.”
"I am honored to have the President's endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination," Harris wrote in a statement. "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."
Harris also wrote that serving as Biden's vice president "is a profound honor," and commended Biden for a "selfless and patriotic act … putting the American people and our country above everything else."
Following Biden’s announcement, the 3,896 Democratic delegates pledged to him during the initial nomination process will be released to support a new nominee at the open Democratic National Convention. The DNC is scheduled to take place from Aug. 19-22 in Chicago.
Former president and 1968 Wharton graduate Donald Trump — who was officially named the Republican presidential nominee at the 2024 Republican National Convention last week — called Biden a “weak, pathetic, and incompetent” leader in a statement released after Biden’s announcement.
Trump also expressed concern about Harris’ fit for office, saying that “during this entire term … Harris — as well as every other Democrat in Washington, sat by and did NOTHING.”
“The question then to Kamala Harris is simple,” he wrote. “Knowing that Joe Biden withdrew from the campaign because of his rapidly deteriorating condition, does Harris believe the people of America are safe and secure with Joe Biden in the White House for six more months?”
Biden’s repeated verbal stumbles and disorganized answers during the debate intensified both public and private calls from Democratic officials, donors, and pundits, as well as dozens of Democratic legislators — including Democratic Congressional leaders — imploring Biden to remove himself from the ticket prior to his announcement.
Democratic officials in Pennsylvania stood by Biden until he announced his resignation on Sunday. Philadelphia Mayor and 2016 Fels Institute of Government graduate Cherelle Parker and Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) joined Biden at an appearance at a church service in Philadelphia in early July. During that visit to the Commonwealth, Biden also appeared with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.
On July 8, Biden delivered a letter to Congress in which he declared his intention to stay in the race and stated he was “absolutely” the “best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024.”
In the wake of the debate, the Biden campaign attempted to engage rank-and-file Democratic voters and bolster support in key swing states — and with party leadership. The president recorded interviews with ABC, NBC, and radio stations, and held campaign events across the country, including in Pennsylvania.
In an ABC interview on July 5, Biden said he would surrender the nomination only “if the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get outta the race.’” In a press conference at NATO’s 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington on July 11, Biden doubled down on his intentions to remain in the race, saying that he would drop out if his team told him that polls indicated “‘There's no way you can win.’”
During a pre-taped interview with BET News that aired on July 17, Biden said that if a doctor diagnosed him with a medical condition, he would consider withdrawing from the race. That same day, the president tested positive for COVID-19.
Biden is the namesake of the Penn Biden Center for Diplomacy and Global Engagement, which Biden used as his main office when he was in Washington. The center officially opened in February 2018 as a hub for diplomacy and a representation of Biden’s ties to the University.
As the Benjamin Franklin Presidential Professor of Practice at Penn, Biden held joint appointments in the Annenberg School for Communication and the School of Arts and Sciences, with a secondary affiliation in the Wharton School starting in February 2017. Biden left Penn in 2019 to pursue the Democratic presidential nomination.
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