Biden Drops Out of Presidential Race, Endorses Harris
Vice-President Kamala Harris watches as Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson delivers remarks at an event celebrating her confirmation to the Supreme Court on Friday, April 8, 2022, on the South Lawn of the White House (Andrew McKeough/AKSM Photography).
Harris raised $81 million on her first day as a presidential candidate.
Article by Grace Sawyer, Senior White House Correspondent
WASHINGTON - After an announcement made by President Joe Biden on Sunday, explaining that he decided to drop out of the 2024 presidential election, he quickly endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden’s decision did not come as a surprise to many following his poor debate performance against former President and current Republican candidate, Donald Trump, in June. Since then, many democrats have written letters and spoken out publicly, urging President Biden to drop his reelection campaign.
“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” Biden claimed in his announcement spread widely across social media. The rationale behind his endorsement and decision to leave the race is expected to be addressed in his Oval Office address on Wednesday evening.
Harris, fully committed to her new role, has already started her campaign, kicking off with a campaign rally in the battleground state of Wisconsin. She spoke to nearly 3,000 voters at West Allis Central High School, focusing on her plans to support and protect reproductive rights, bolster economic opportunity, and claiming that “The path to the White House goes through Wisconsin.”
The democratic party seems pleased with her proposed nomination, with Harris receiving notable endorsements from Nancy Pelosi, James Clyburn, Gavin Newsom, Pete Buttigieg, Roy Cooper, and Andy Beshear. Most recently, Harris was endorsed by Democratic leaders Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries. Only 1,976 delegates were needed for nomination, and as of right now Harris has secured endorsements from more than 3,000 delegates.
The American people have also begun to rally around Vice President Harris as the Democratic front runner. Upwards of 44,000 Black women joined a Zoom meeting led by an organization called “Win with Black Women” on Sunday to show their support and consequently raised over $1 million. A similar virtual meeting was held for Black Men called “Black Men for Harris,” which was led by radio personality Roland Martin, on Monday. Over 55,000 Black men were in attendance and they raised an additional $1.3 million towards Harris’ campaign. Many are also praising Harris’s marketing team, who seem to be reaching out to the younger voters on social platforms such as TikTok, mostly inhabited by Gen Z. Obviously her strategy is working, because in her first twenty four hours as a presidential hopeful, her campaign reported that they raised an astounding $81 million.
The next question being asked by the American Public, who is going to be selected as Harris’ running mate? The most obvious leading choices for the administration are Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro and Arizona Senator Mark Kelly who are currently being vetted by Eric Holder, the former U.S. attorney general, and a team of lawyers at his firm Covington & Burling, AP news reports. Another candidate that many people thought could potentially be chosen was Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, however she addressed the speculation and claimed she had no interest in being Vice President, and instead simply gave Harris her endorsement.
Another question being asked is will Vice President Harris debate former President Donald Trump? Trump has expressed interest in debating with Harris now that President Biden is no longer running for reelection but he has not yet committed.
“I haven’t agreed to anything. I agreed to a debate with Joe Biden,” Trump said. “But I want to debate her, and she’ll be no different, because they have the same policies. I think debating is important for a presidential race, I really do, you sort of have an obligation to debate.”
This endorsement of Harris, making her the probable Democratic nominee is a historic time in the political landscape. Only four Vice Presidents in the history of the United States have ever been elected President. There has never been a female President. There has never been a Black woman and Asian American leading the ticket of a major political party. If nominated by the Democratic Party and potentially later winning the Presidency, Vice President Harris would be shattering “firsts” at an unprecedented pace.
The Democratic National Committee has said it will select a presidential nominee by August 7th, and until then Harris will continue her campaign and planned path to the Presidency.