Tears and Secrecy: Behind the Scenes of Biden’s Decision to Withdraw
Staffers working on Biden’s campaign were reportedly still making calls to delegates when his announcement was made.
Joe Biden's decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race caught many by surprise, including his own staff, who were reportedly still making calls to delegates when the announcement was made. The president chose to share the news via a letter posted on social media at 1:46 PM on Sunday, July 21, 2024, a move that left his staff in the dark until the last minute.
Only a small circle of trusted advisers and family members were aware of Biden's plans beforehand. The president himself was still on a video call with his senior White House and campaign advisors at 1:45 PM, reading them the letter and thanking them for their work, when the announcement went live. Many staff members were shocked and some were in tears, expressing hurt and frustration that they had been kept uninformed.
Biden's isolation over the weekend at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, provided the setting for "very sobering" discussions about his poor poll numbers, which took a turn for the worse after a lackluster debate performance. Top aides Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon assisted the president in drafting the letter on Saturday, maintaining a cautious distance due to his recent COVID-19 illness.
The sudden announcement left some Biden supporters confused, with one delegate recalling a fundraising email from the campaign just minutes before the letter was posted. The virtual roll call for the Democratic nomination, scheduled for early next month, is now in question, along with the timing of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Only a small circle of trusted advisers and family members were aware of Biden's plans beforehand. The president himself was still on a video call with his senior White House and campaign advisors at 1:45 PM, reading them the letter and thanking them for their work, when the announcement went live. Many staff members were shocked and some were in tears, expressing hurt and frustration that they had been kept uninformed.
Biden's isolation over the weekend at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, provided the setting for "very sobering" discussions about his poor poll numbers, which took a turn for the worse after a lackluster debate performance. Top aides Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon assisted the president in drafting the letter on Saturday, maintaining a cautious distance due to his recent COVID-19 illness.
The sudden announcement left some Biden supporters confused, with one delegate recalling a fundraising email from the campaign just minutes before the letter was posted. The virtual roll call for the Democratic nomination, scheduled for early next month, is now in question, along with the timing of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.