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The decision had been coming for a few weeks already, and Biden has now made it official. There was a sense that he could have stayed in office until the Democratic National Convention in August. But unfortunately, a sense of realism finally took hold of Biden and his camp. This was his statement on Twitter/X:
My American followers,
We have made great progress as a nation over the past three and a half years.
Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We have made historic investments in rebuilding our nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We have provided much-needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. We have passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. We have appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And we have passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today.
I know none of this would have been possible without the efforts of you, the American people. Together, we have overcome a once-in-a-century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We have protected and preserved our democracy. And we have revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.
It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. Although I intend to run for re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and my country for me to step aside and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.
I will speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision.
For now, let me express my deep gratitude to all those who worked so hard to re-elect me. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all that we have done. And to the American people for the tremendous trust they have placed in me.
“I believe today what I have always believed: that there is nothing America cannot do—when we do it together. We just have to remember that we are the United States of America.”
With his withdrawal, betting markets are putting Kamala Harris as the favorite to replace Biden over Trump. But that may not be clear cut as Biden did not directly endorse Harris in his statement above. He will speak later about his decision to withdraw from the race, so we’ll see if he says anything else then.
Otherwise, we may have to wait until after the Democratic National Convention to get a better idea of who will face Trump in November.
Adam posted this earlier: How will bond and forex markets react to Biden dropping out of the race?
to update: Biden has now come out to offer his official endorsement of Harris, saying: “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement to Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year.”
Other Democrats could still challenge Harris next month, but with Biden’s endorsement, it will be a tough task. In the bigger picture, Trump is still the favorite to win the election. But at least it’s not a certainty now, though Democrats’ chances remain slim.