by Sharon Rondeau
(Jul. 22, 2024) — At approximately 7:00 a.m. EDT Monday, 2024 Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump wrote on TruthSocial that Joe Biden, whose office on Sunday issued a statement withdrawing him from the 2024 presidential campaign, “is demanding his campaign schedule and arranging talks with Presidents Xi of China, and Putin of Russia, concerning the possible start of World War 3…”
In an apparent reference to claims numerous Democrats made up to the tumultuous events of the past week culminating in Biden’s withdrawal, Trump concluded with, “Biden is ‘sharp, decisive, energetic, angry, and ready to go!’”
Biden’s downward political spiral advanced dramatically in real time as he debated Trump on June 27 at CNN headquarters in Atlanta, often appearing confused and uttering statements either unintelligible or not germane to the question at hand.
Reporting from Axios Friday indicated sources believed Biden would announce his withdrawal before the weekend concluded following mounting pressure from Barack Obama and his aides; former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and reported “ally” Rep. Adam Schiff, who is seeking a Senate seat; Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries; nearly three dozen other members of Congress and a Democrat donor class.
At approximately 1:45 p.m. Sunday, a letter appeared on Biden’s personal “X” account in which he wrote, “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe is in the best interest of my party in the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
He then promised to “speak to the Nation later this week in more detail” about his decision.
Many believe recent polls pitting Biden against Trump, who received his party’s nomination last week, revealed Biden had no path to victory, particularly given the results in “swing” states.
Though receiving a wide array of endorsements since Biden’s withdrawal, including that of Biden and the Clintons, it is not immediately clear if Kamala Harris will receive the Democrat Party nomination at its convention next month.
In the same vein as his Monday morning comment, late Saturday Trump claimed Biden was “going to wake up and forget that he dropped out of the race today!”
At approximately the same time, Trump asserted Biden “never had COVID” as the White House reported Wednesday prior to a second appearance Biden was scheduled to make in Las Vegas, NV.
The announcement took Biden off the campaign trail and returned him to his home in Rehoboth Beach, DE, where he remains.
Reports on the whirlwind of events indicate, however, that Biden advisers met with him in person despite his public diagnosis.
“When Biden huddled with his two closest advisers Saturday, the information they provided on polling and where top Democratic officials stood underscored that a path to victory was ‘basically nonexistent,’ according to another person familiar with the matter,” CNN reported late Sunday night.
At 7:38 p.m. EDT Sunday, Politico reported:
Steve Ricchetti, who’s been with Biden since his days in the Senate, drove to see the president at his house on the Delaware shore on Friday. Mike Donilon arrived on Saturday. The two men, both of whom had been by Biden’s side during key decisions about whether to seek the presidency in 2016 and 2020, sat at a distance from the president, still testing positive for Covid, and presented damning new information in a meeting that would hasten the end of Biden’s political career.
Trump raised the question about Biden’s diagnosis Sunday evening, then supplied his own answer: “No, he wanted to get out ever since June 27th, the night of The Debate, where he was completely obliterated. That was the big moment in Joe Biden’s demise…”
Biden’s personal “X” account makes clear the official White House account is separate and now shows his endorsement of Harris.
