Politico reveals who convinced Biden to exit presidential race
Photo: US President Joe Biden (Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden has decided to withdraw from the election after meeting with two of his closest aides, Politico reports.
Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon, longtime associates of Biden, visited him in Delaware on Friday and Saturday, respectively. They sat at a distance from the President, who tested positive for COVID and presented information that could hasten the end of his political career.
Five people familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity, said campaign polls conducted this week showed his chances of winning in November were slim. Biden asked several questions during the discussion.
On Sunday, only First Lady Jill Biden and two aides were at the residence with Biden: Deputy Chief of Staff Annie Tomasini and Assistant to the First Lady Anthony Bernal. At 1:45 p.m., he told his close aides that he had decided to stop running for another term, reading his letter and thanking them.
This announcement stunned the political world and immediately changed the perception of Biden: after three weeks of mocking him, his party began to praise his record, his career in public service, and his decision to put the country first.
It wasn't just the flood of defections from his party that led to this, although that played a role. Most importantly, Biden himself finally realized what many Democrats realized after his poor performance in last month's debate: he cannot win.
According to two sources, the campaign commissioned new polls in key states for the first time in more than two months, and the results were dismal: Biden is lagging in all six important states and is collapsing in Virginia and New Mexico, where Democrats did not plan to spend large resources.
Knowing this and anticipating a campaign of public pressure from party elders, the sudden departure gave the President a chance to create the impression that the decision was voluntary, which was important to Jill Biden, who sought to preserve her husband's dignity.
Background
On July 21, US President Joe Biden announced that he would not seek re-election. He posted a message on X, suggesting Vice President Kamala Harris as a candidate instead.
Some Republicans called on Biden to resign, but US administration spokesperson Andrew Bates said that Biden would remain in office until the end of his term.
