Joe Biden Drops Out

from The New York Times I'm Michael Boro. this is the daily good day we are coming. on the air with significant breaking. news in a political earthquake President. Joe Biden has just announced that he is. dropping out of the 2024 presidential. race Joe Biden has ended his campaign. for president and endorsed his vice. president kamla Harris as his. replacement just moments ago the. president tweeted out it has been the. greatest honor of my life to serve as.

your president and while it has been my. intention to seek re-election I believe. it is 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 today Peter Baker on how the race. for the White House has suddenly been. turned upside. down it's Monday July 2.

[Music]. second Peter good evening it's 700 p.m. Sunday night we are all still catching. our breaths and processing this news but. you bring a special set of credentials. to this moment you're not just the chief. White House correspondent for the times. you're a historian of the presidency and. of American politics and so in that. context.

I very much want to understand your. reaction to what happened a little. before 2: p.m. this afternoon yeah. Michael there's literally no historical. precedent for this nothing nothing comes. close and I say that because no sitting. president has dropped out of a race so. late in the election cycle in American. history I mean that just doesn't happen. and the you know the closest you can. come to this is lynon Johnson who. dropped out in 1968 it was a surprise. like this in a way but it was in March. of that year when there still having.

primaries they hadn't yet gotten to this. point where the primaries were over and. about to have a convention and four. months in an election year that's that's. a political lifetime so this is very new. and very much Uncharted Territory right. and I don't know where you were when you. heard the news but I was at a restaurant. the people around me when they learned. it gasped out loud clutched their phones. were deeply surprised and it clearly. rocked them oh yeah when we first saw. the online message the first reaction. that we had was is this real or is a.

fake we didn't hit the done button until. we confirmed with two White House. officials it was for real because you. know we didn't expect if he was going to. do it it would be just like that on a. online posting but he decided that was. the best way to go and he's got covid so. he couldn't do it apparently in front of. a camera without being raspy and. coughing and so forth but it was a shock. to everybody well there are so many. dimensions of this that I want to cover. with you including the way in which he. made this announcement his subsequent. endorsement whether or not this actually.

settles the question of his replacement. how this is going to play out at a. convention that's going to occur in just. a few weeks but first I want to. understand how exactly Biden came to. this decision because Peter we left our. listeners on Friday with the. understanding that party leaders were. waging a campaign to drive Biden out of. the race but you along with some of our. colleagues had found that it was. infuriating Biden this effort to oust. him by senior leaders and it was making. him want to dig in further what happened. in what seems like a very short window.

of time where he was choosing between. you know bucking his party and. swallowing a lot of Pride and and. deciding to to walk away right and now. he's been isolated in raob Beach his. vacation house since Wednesday night. he's been coughing and unhappy obviously. as anybody would be when they're sick. but also bristling like you said against. the people who thought were his friends. and allies in a way people like Nancy. Pelosi and Barack Obama who he perceived. to be as he saw anyway running a kind of.

semi syruptitious campaign to drive him. out and it was very uh hurtful I think. as he saw it uh he was very upset about. it he was mad about it and in fact you. know just last night I was talking with. one of his closest uh people who said. that he thought maybe he was actually. starting to dig in more it was in fact. going to resist all the pressure even. though it it seemed like he was moving. toward this kind of a conclusion and. then the last 24 hours has been. apparently a really dramatic period. Saturday morning there was a call with.

the national co-chairs of the campaign. and the co-chairs were expecting there. to be some news they thought that they. would finally get a sense of where. things were going and what was about to. happen and instead they get this sort of. routine report about the door knocking. and the social media and all the this. and that that the campaign is doing and. half an hour in a couple of them finally. say wait a second what what we got to. talk about the elephant in the room here. mhm and it led to just a frustrated and. inconclusive call meanwhile as we're. told now at reoboth the president was.

sitting down with whatever family is. there as well as three AIDS and talking. about maybe he should in fact call it. quits and they called Mike donellan. really his longest probably serving. adviser in the white house right now and. they said you got to get to ROV with and. so he rushes to ROV. with and they start drafting the. statement president's sick he doesn't. want to announce on camera if he sounds. bad and so together they craft this.

letter and this letter defends his. presidency talks about all the things. they've accomplished things he's proud. of and then gets to the real punchline. which is that he's not going to stand. for re-election after all now the. president at that point hasn't told. anybody this other than the people in. that room and they keep it secret and. only in Sunday morning after he slept on. it he finalizes the decision so he calls. three people he calls KLA Harris of. course he calls Jeff Zs who is his White. House Shiva staff and he calls janal Dy.

his campaign share so it's really very. tightly held and finally they arrange a. zoom call for really senior most people. in the White House and in the campaign. that's when the president tells them I'm. giving up I'm backing out I'm stepping. aside it's going to be up for k Harris. to take the party forward and he tells. them this at 1:45 p.m. on. Sunday at. 1:46 p.m. on Sunday the letter is posted.

[Music]. online so a a one minute warning a one. minute warning they were not brought in. until literally one minute before the. button was pushed that's how much they. wanted to ensure that he made this. announcement on his own terms and as. you've hint to that he not only wants to. drop out on his own terms he wants to. anoint his replacement exactly right so. he says nothing in the letter about what. should happen next he wants that to be a. statement about his presidency but.

within a half hour he puts up another. social media Post in which he says he's. endorsing KLA Harris his vice president. to be the new nominee and that was a big. deal because with his endorsement that's. the impr premature that she needs to go. forward to try to secure a nomination in. this extraordinarily intense and. truncated period we're looking at right. now well Peter I want to talk about this. because it was not a foregone conclusion. that Biden was going to endorse Comm.

Harris in fact we understood from our. colleagues here at the times that one of. the reasons one of the reasons that. Biden seemed to be reluctant to leave. this race for so long even after the. debate was that he was not fully. confident that Harris would necessarily. win if she stood in his place so what do. we know about why he embraced her like. this so quickly so forcefully rather. than leave this decision to the. Democratic party and its delegates well. you're right about that she he did have. doubts about her ability to take forward.

this contest and he had to be convinced. he had to be convinced of three things. one that he couldn't win right or it. would be very hard for him to win. secondly that she could and thirdly that. there could be a clean transition right. he did not want a huge mess and that's. why he would endorse her in order to. clear the field and ultimately some of. the polls coming back in the last few. days have been dreadful for him but. there have been some that have shown. that she actually does at least as well. as he does against Trump and in some.

cases even a couple points better and. that's before she ever has a chance to. introduce herself in a way as a titular. head of the democratic party right so. that gave him I think at least some. confidence that there was a chance a. good chance maybe that she can win so so. far it appears that party leaders are. deferring to Biden's judgment and. deferring to K Harris right yeah a lot. of them quickly Endor most importantly. the Congressional Black Caucus.

a number of other Democrats including. Bill and Hillary Clinton and you also. see nobody else rising to challeng her. either Governor Gavin Newsome of. California has previously said he. wouldn't challenge her if she were in. the race and Governor Gretchen Whitmer. of Michigan the other person a lot of. people are looking at an ally of hers. said on TV today no she has said she's. not going to be a candidate this year. and so if they're not running then we. haven't seen anybody else yet jump into. the race somebody could but those are. probably be the two strongest candidates.

if you were to rank the field MH I mean. this may be academic given what you've. just said I mean there's no primary. battle if no one decides to run against. KLA Harris but it felt notable to me. Peter that a few of the party's most. prominent figures including those. involved in trying to get Biden out of. the race and here I'm thinking about. Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama and hakee. Jeff did not endorse kamla Harris and. instead seemed to leave open the. possibility that what they really want. is a competition for this job and and I.

wonder what you make of that and is it. important or does it not matter at all. at this point no I think it's important. and in fact n py had said to her fellow. members of the California delegation. just a few days back that she thought. there should be an open contest right so. that is in the air and people noticed. immediately of course that she didn't. endorse Harris and as you say Obama. didn't and Jeff didn't now it doesn't. really matter if nobody else is going to. come forward and that's the real. question and I think we should know that. within 24 hours I mean at this point if. you're going to run you don't have time.

to Dole you have to get out there. because it's really just a few days. before this all hits the head in fact. remember the Democrats aren't even. waiting for the convention to formalize. their nominee they had decided to have a. virtual roll call in advance by August. 7th and that means if you're going to. try to get this done in that time. there's very very very little window. here very small window for anybody else. to jump in Peter let's proceed down the. path of KLA Harris as a parent.

what are the logistics of her becoming. the nominee and inheriting or recreating. if necessary the apparatus of President. Biden's re-election campaign and his. financial War chest right well first of. all she has to be ratified by the. roughly 4,000 delegates to the. Democratic Convention who are allowed to. vote on a first ballot now that could be. a jump ball but remember those 4,000. delegates are almost all Biden delegates. that means they're already sort of. bought into the Biden Harris ticket and.

they are presumably less likely than. Democrats generally to be open to other. candidates we don't know that for sure. but that's a guess given that they're. pledged to the president but she can't. take anything for granted because we've. never seen this in modern times then. once that happens when she becomes the. nominee obviously she has access to the. apparatus of the re-election campaign. because remember her name is on the. organization documents and all that too. it's the Biden Harris campaign so she. has a legal claim name to the apparatus.

to the war chest and so on and so forth. and it looks like the Biden people are. telling friends and allies and staff. that they're planning to be her team now. as well I just want to pause and reflect. on the fact that we're talking about a. set of logistics that were. inconceivable just even a few hours ago. and now we're in the thick of them and. one of them is who is going to be the. number two on a theoretical Harris. ticket because she has been the number. two on this ticket until today.

how do we think KL Harris is going to be. thinking about that decision and when. does that decision come traditionally. you don't pick a running maid until. pretty much the convention perhaps. though she thinks she needs to pick a. number two right now in order to seem. like a strong nominee yeah that's a. really good question we're jumping ahead. from who's gonna be number one to who's. G to be number two because there's. really no time not to right and the. party is focused on this and she's. focused on this and because she has been. the loyal number two to President Biden.

all his time she hasn't been able to do. anything to prepare right there's been. no official vetting going on there's. been no official meetings held there's. been no official interviews conducted so. she has very little time to start. thinking about this at the same time. she's consolidating support for herself. but there is a lot of thinking about. this the idea is that she would have to. balance out the ticket with somebody who. would you know make up for any. weaknesses she has there is a concern by. a lot of Democrats about how she will. play in some of these Midwestern states.

like Michigan and Wisconsin and. Pennsylvania that are so key to the. election where the white working middle. class may or may not be as excited about. the first woman of color to head a. national ticket so can you find somebody. who would appeal to those voters you. know a governor from that area or. something like that right and those are. states and we learned this very keenly. at the RNC where Trump's selection of a. Vice Presidential nominee JD Vance is. seen as immensely Str AIC and looking.

like a very wise choice when it comes to. Michigan Wisconsin and Pennsyvania. absolutely presumably they're going to. park JD Vance in Pennsylvania for the. next 100 days and really just have him. play on the neighboring state solidarity. kind of thing and he can appeal to some. of these very voters we're talking about. so does that mean she picks for instance. a Josh Shapiro who's the governor of. Pennsylvania right now does it mean she. picks somebody like Governor Roy Cooper. or governor of North Carolina or. governor Andy basher of Kentucky who.

maybe not from the most important States. but are seen as moderates and maybe more. acceptable to to some of the voters in. these other Battleground States so those. are the calculations you're going to see. I think going forward and she's not the. only one now who has to Pivot of. [Music]. course the Republicans who had been. running against Joe Biden and even kind. of looking forward to it since the. debate are now having to Pivot to go. after. her but they're champing at the bit to. do it and to use this moment to keep.

going after Biden and they want to wrap. Biden around her neck and make his. weaknesses her. [Music]. weaknesses we'll be right. back Peter tell us about how Republicans. especially former president Trump are. responding to this news that Biden is. out endorsing kamla Harris and how. they're thinking about it.

strategically given how little time. there is and as you said just before the. break the reality that they had wanted. Biden to remain in the race he was the. devil they knew and he was weak yeah. exactly and they've taken a few. approaches to this already the first. thing they're arguing is that Democrats. have just invalidated the will of 14. million Democratic primary voters who. voted for Biden to be their nominee now. it's hard to think that Republicans are. really that concerned about Democratic. primary voters but is there way of sort.

of trying to to drive a wedge in there. and get Democrats upset who might be. unhappy that Biden is dropping out and. the second claim they're making is that. if Biden can't be the nominee then he. shouldn't be president if he can't run. then he shouldn't govern that's their. argument therefore they're saying he. should immediately resign and you saw. that from pretty high up Republicans. including speaker Mike Johnson and Elise. stefanic who's in the leadership and.

it's a way of stirring the pot and it's. a way of making the argument that. Democrats have a weak leader and that. they're a party in disarray in a sense. they're trying to impune the entire. Democratic brand by saying that the. Democratic president shouldn't be. president and I suppose they're hoping. that just trickles down and Mars kamla. Harris right and and one reason they're. doing it is because in fact Democrats. according to polls are doing pretty well. this election year it was really Biden. who was having trouble you know a lot of.

these Senate Democrats who were in tough. states were running many points ahead of. Biden because his issue with the voters. is really personal it's not about his. policies so much it's not about his. performance so much it's about his. capacity they think he's too old they. think he would be especially too old in. the second term well kamla Harris is 59. she's not going to be having that same. issue so trying to impune her with Biden. is trying to still have the advantages. that the Republicans thought they had. with Biden but with another candidate.

and of course. 59 is 20 years or so younger than Trump. so does the age thing not only go away. but perhaps start to become a problem. for Trump yeah actually this is one of. the rare instances where a change in. canidate allows a party to turn the. argument that worked against them around. on the other party right she's going to. totally take that generational fight to. Trump now because she's going to say. he's the one who too old he's the one. who has cognitive problems he's the one.

who keeps mixing up names and mixing up. dates and mixing up things like that and. that we should not allow him to be in. office for another four years because. he's not up to the. job help me understand what the plan is. to attack Harris herself clearly they. want to link her to Biden given the. concerns about him but what do we. understand to be their strategy for. critiquing Harris right when they go. after her they try to paint her as a. radical left Winger right that she's.

somehow much more On The Fringe than Joe. Biden is and you saw Donald Trump Jr the. president's oldest son right on true. social he said the quote K Harris owns. the entire left-wing policy record of. Joe Biden the only difference is that. she's even more liberal and less. competent than Joe which is really. saying something so the strategy isn't. just to attach kamla Harris to Biden as. a weak leader and hope that that kind of. transfers from him to her but in.

addition to suggest that she is a. left-wing radical I think that's exactly. right but in fact the argument is kind. of a tricky one because she is not seen. at least by democrats as being. especially liberal she was a prosecutor. in California in fact some of the. Liberals when she ran for president in. 2020 didn't like her because she was too. moderate in their view too tough on. crime for instance so they're trying to. paint her as a radical and I think you. you know some Dem would argue that's a. function partly of stereotypes but.

she'll have to contend with that and and. and make out to the public what she. really thinks her philosophy is and. Define herself for who KLA Harris is not. Joe Biden I mean there are so many. questions that will now Define this race. if K Harris is the nominee and just to. hint at some of them what does it mean. to have a woman of color running against. Trump given his history of sometimes. openly racist comments what does it mean. to have former prosecutor taking on a.

convicted felon is it going to feel like. Harris is as we've talked about far too. attached to Biden to represent anything. approaching a clean break in this race. and will the same issues that dogged her. as vice president which is that she. would never quite seem to find her. footing and her place in this. Administration become the story of her. campaign or is there just a very real. possibility that in a short time period. She catches fire because so many voters. have been desperate for any alternative.

to both Biden and Trump and I know. that's a lot of questions to throw at. you but I think those are the questions. that are going to define the next few. weeks oh Michael you'd be a Great White. House reporter this is exactly the way. we ask the questions to the president. let me give you the five questions I got. for you sir but you're right I mean. there's all the right questions right. and the truth is we don't know the. answer because we are in a area we. haven't been before and it's going to be. a remarkable three and a half months to. find out what the answers are I think. there there's a decent chance that she.

does offer voters a fresh face because. they are so sick of both these. candidates Biden and Trump the polls. have made very clear that voters woned. nothing to do with either of them. frankly even members of their own party. finally you have what they say they want. which is a fresh face from a new. generation now that doesn't mean she can. turn it into support necessarily she's. going to have to convince the public. that she's up for the job and that they. really will get something that they want. from her I think you're right to say. that she has struggled in the past with.

her own campaigns her own campaign for. pres in 2020 died on the vine she didn't. even make it to the first vote but she. has some opportunities here and she can. reintroduce herself to the public and. we'll see how she does and I you one. last thing is you mentioned the part. about a former prosecutor taking on a. convicted felon that could be really. interesting she sees herself more than. anything as a prosecutor that's her. self-image her self-image is a is a. prosecutor and watch the two of them on. stage assuming he agrees to still do a.

debate with her could be really. interesting to watch right we are. rightfully I think focused on what the. future of this race looks like now that. Biden is out and it looks like it's. going to possibly be Harris versus Trump. but Peter to end I I want to talk about. Biden's place in history given what he. just did a few hours ago he from all you. have written dreaded this moment he. didn't want to be a one-term president. he believes his presidency was a success.

because of the list of bipartisan. legislation that he passed on everything. from infrastructure to climate which. were historic pieces of legislation and. clearly he believes that all the. external signs of his aging don't match. the reality of his competence but the. rest of the party just doesn't agree. with him and the polls don't seem to. agree with him either I just want to sit. for a minute with the idea of how this. decision fits into the larger question. of how we're going to be thinking about.

Joe Biden in four years 8 years 12 years. 50 years I think that's a great question. because in fact that was at the heart of. the conversation over the last three. weeks not just could he win but how. would history remember him for him this. is an excruciating decision it fought. against every Instinct he has remember. he's been in politics for a half century. and every time somebody said no Joe you. can't do that he often did it anyway and. often succeeded in his mind anyway his.

self-image is somebody who overcame all. the doubters and the Skeptics and the. people who didn't believe in him the. people who denigrated him and to give. into that pressure was you know I think. searing for him but part of the argument. is you will be remembered kindly by. history for putting country ahead of. yourself and that's why you saw these. Democrats racing out today to lionize. him over this decision including former.

President Obama and former speaker. Pelosi and all these others saying that. he will be remembered for his you know. Grace and courage and self-sacrifice. obviously that's to soften the blow but. also I think maybe they believe it and I. think that that's important for Biden's. place in history but the last thing I. would say on this is because it happened. so late it still means the result of the. election is going to play into how he's. Remembered in the history books if kamla.

Harris loses a lot of people will still. say that was Biden's fault for waiting. so long if she wins he will be validated. for having made this decision that he's. made now to step aside and he will be. remembered more. kindly so this is a problem for. presidents right history is always. waiting and they're always focused on. what it will say and you can't rewrite. it once it's.

happened well Peter thank you very much. we appreciate it oh thank you for having. [Music]. me on Sunday my colleagues asked. Democratic voters to reflect on Biden. decision his endorsement of Harris and.

what it will mean for the final weeks of. the presidential. race yeah so what was your reaction to. the news about President Biden today I. was relieved he's been a great president. but it was time for new leadership in. the party I think he did the most. patriotic thing I've seen a president do. he his political future for the good of.

the country I mean I'm a little choked. up I've cried cuz I love Joe Biden I. absolutely love Joe. Buton still can't talk about Joe Buton. without feeling like I'm going to cry. and I am really proud after the debate. it was scary I don't think I want that. guy in the office and we need somebody. stronger I think Kamala is going to run. and I think that I I hope she's got to. go it I don't think Poma has been around.

long enough it's really sad and scary to. say but I don't think the middle of the. country is going to vote for a female. and a one who is a minority honestly I. don't really think that Harris will do. well Nationwide and you're saying that. as a black woman yourself as a black. woman yeah I am America's just not ready. for a woman president especially not a. black woman president we're going to see. more people kind of perk up and say all. right we have another good strong woman. was a.

prosecutor and she's going to run. against a criminal this is going to make. a great story I just hope now that. people will rally behind kamla and not. have a big fight on the floor for the. convention coming up so we need to get. it settled and get to the business of. beating. Trump we'll be right back. here's what else you need to know today.

the director of The Secret Service is. now facing bipartisan calls to resign. after the agency acknowledged that it. repeatedly denied requests for. additional resources sought by Donald. Trump's security. detail the requests for more security. were sought throughout the past 2 years. but were not specifically for the rally. where Trump was shot even so the. Revelation is fueling criticism of.

secret service director Kimberly Cheeto. who is scheduled to appear before. Congress later. today today's episode was produced by. Jessica Chung Shannon Lynn and Sydney. Harper with help from Olivia Nat and. Carlos PR it was edited by Devin Taylor. contains original music by Will Reed and. and Dan Powell and was engineered by.

Chris. Wood special thanks to Katie Edmonson. zolen Kano Youngs Heather Knight Robert. Jimson Eric Lee Reed Epstein alesandro. Sassoon and Emily. [Music]. Cochran that's it for the daily I'm. Michael tomorrow see you tomorrow.

[Music].