 |
| Serving in the White House “has been the greatest honor of my life,” President Biden said. He said he would complete his term in office. Doug Mills/The New York Times |
President Biden steps aside
President Biden abandoned his bid for re-election yesterday, succumbing to intense pressure from the Democratic Party in a dramatic attempt to stop Donald Trump from returning to the White House. No sitting U.S. president has dropped out of a race so late in an election cycle.
Follow our live coverage of reactions, endorsements and further developments.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden said in a letter posted on social media. “And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, 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.”
Biden said he planned to serve out his term, and he endorsed Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, offering his “full support.” Not long afterward, Harris announced that she was running. “My intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said in a statement. “We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”
Background: Biden, 81, told aides as recently as Saturday night that his campaign was still moving ahead at full speed. Most of his staff was informed of his decision yesterday at 1:45 p.m., one minute before Biden posted his announcement. Here’s a timeline of his withdrawal.
Response: Democratic voters said they were relieved that Biden was ending his campaign, but many said they remained worried about the political path ahead, as well as whether Americans were ready to elect a Black woman to the nation’s highest office. Undecided voters said they could be receptive to other candidates, to an extent.
Global reaction: In their statements, foreign leaders did not wade into the turmoil of U.S. politics. Many opted instead for congratulations and empathy for Biden.
 |
| There is no precedent or historical record to guide the Democratic Party’s next steps. Jim Vondruska/Reuters |
The next nominee
Biden’s decision sets the stage for an intense, abbreviated scramble to build a new Democratic ticket, the first time in generations that a nominee will be chosen at a convention rather than through primaries.
There are more than 4,600 Democratic National Convention delegates, made up of senior party figures, local activists and elected officials who were selected at state party conventions this spring.
After getting off to a rocky start in office, Vice President Harris now stands at the brink of leading her party’s ticket. Should she become the nominee, she would have only a few months to boost her own weak approval ratings, make a case for a Harris presidency and rally voters against Trump. Here’s where she stands on key issues, and what’s next for her campaign.
Biden has endorsed Harris and can make recommendations that his delegates can follow, but he does not control the outcome. Harris has received a cascade of prominent endorsements from across the ideological spectrum, but other Democrats, including Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, have indicated that they want a competitive process. No top Democrats have so far announced plans to challenge her.
There is no precedent or historical record to consult, and the party’s rules are not always clear on the details of what will unfold next, but there appear to be two ways the process could unfold:
| The party could rally around Harris as a unifying force during a time of crisis. She has been vetted and is well known. And she could take over the Biden-Harris campaign apparatus and bank account.But some Democrats have argued that anointing a candidate is risky. If more candidates get into the race, it could result in party-sanctioned forums being held across the country, with party delegates ultimately deciding who the nominee is. Several prominent Democratic governors are seen as potential candidates. |
Key dates: Democrats will gather in Chicago on Aug. 19 for their nominating convention; the nominee is scheduled to deliver an acceptance speech on Aug. 22.
 |
| Donald Trump’s campaign team has been preparing to attack Kamala Harris. Doug Mills/The New York Times |
What this means for Donald Trump
Biden’s announcement could upend a race that, since his disastrous debate performance, has seemed to favor Donald Trump. The decision may have opened up the election, my Opinion colleague Nicholas Kristof writes. “By bowing out of the presidential race, he appears to have increased the odds that Democrats can hold onto the White House and compete strongly for control of Congress.”
Trump’s team is already trying to find an effective message it can use to take down Harris. Meanwhile, the Republican nominee wasted no time going after his departing opponent, writing on social media: “Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve — And never was!” Other Republicans quickly called on the president to resign the office.
Republicans had viewed Biden as an easy target even before the debate. Many voters already saw him as too old for a second term, and Republicans bashed him for his handling of the border crisis and tried tying him to soaring inflation and gas prices. More recently, Trump has tried to depict himself as strong and vital by comparison, an argument that Biden’s departure could undermine.
More from Opinion:
| Biden placed the national interest above his own pride, the editorial board writes. Now Democrats can refocus the election on the dangers of a second Trump term — and it should not shy away from a competitive process to pick a new nominee.Now that Biden is out, Harris is the only choice to replace him, Tressie McMillan Cottom writes.If Democrats want to prove that their goal is to stop Trump at all costs, they should do something dramatic at their convention: nominate Mitt Romney, writes Aaron Sorkin.Joe Biden just put country first. What an extraordinary moment in American history, Patrick Healy writes. |
| MORE TOP NEWS |
 |
| Agence France-Presse — Getty Images |
| Israel: The country’s military said it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, after Israeli fighter jets bombed a vital Yemeni port, above, on Saturday in retaliation for a drone strike on Tel Aviv.Investigation: Xiao Jianhua, a corrupt investor tied to China’s political elite, backed Jack Ma, the country’s most revered entrepreneur.Vietnam: The country’s long-serving Communist Party general secretary, Nguyen Phu Trong, died on Friday, raising questions about the succession.Bangladesh: A court ruling sharply reduced a quota system for government jobs after protests turned violent.Campus protests: In the months since pro-Palestinian demonstrations rocked American colleges this spring, many of the charges against protesters have been dropped.Box office: The disaster movie “Twisters” was on pace to sell roughly $80 million in tickets in North America over the weekend, 60 percent more than expected. |
| SPORTS NEWS |
| Tour de France: Tadej Pogacar turned the tables on his rival Jonas Vingegaard and won his third title.F1: Oscar Piastri won his first Formula 1 race, the Hungarian Grand Prix, after a messy situation unfolded within McLaren.Olympics: For many, tennis and the Games are an odd combination. That has seldom been more true than in Paris this year.Golf: Xander Schauffele is the 2024 Champion Golfer of the Year. Here’s what to know from the final round of the 152nd British Open Championship. |
| MORNING READ |
 |
| Billy H.C. Kwok for The New York Times |
People in Hong Kong can now visit Stonehenge, the Egyptian pyramids and the giant faces of Easter Island without leaving the city — sort of. The attractions have been recreated as white inflatables for a public outdoor festival, attracting crowds as well as mockery.
| CONVERSATION STARTERS |
| 25 years in a pineapple under the sea: This quiz tests your “SpongeBob SquarePants” knowledge.Tourist fees: Charging visitors five euros to enter Venice on peak days generated nearly 2.5 million euros, a sum so great that critics said the effort to deter day-trippers had failed.Sports fashion: Athletes are the new fashion superstars, our chief style critic writes. |
| ARTS AND IDEAS |
 |
| Finbarr O’Reilly for The New York Times |
The book buried beneath a cherry tree
Volodymyr Vakulenko, a Ukrainian author, buried a handwritten manuscript in his backyard in 2022 when he sensed that Russian forces might arrest him. His body later turned up in a mass grave.
Six months later, a fellow Ukrainian author, Viktoria Amelina, learned of the buried book, dug it up, wrote a foreword and sent it to a publisher. But she too was killed, in a missile strike on a pizza restaurant.
The resulting volume, “I Transform: A Diary of Occupation and Selected Poems,” is now on sale — a testament to Ukraine’s enduring book industry.
| RECOMMENDATIONS |
 |
| Rachel Vanni for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne. |
Cook: Layer warm chickpeas and tomatoes atop crunchy cucumber yogurt.
