President Joe Biden is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, has endorsed Kamala Harris, and will “focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”

He also won’t address the nation about it until sometime next week (after his next blood transfusion, we assume?).

pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

And while 81 million voters are surely crestfallen, Kamala Harris’ odds of being the 2024 Democratic nominee naturally spiked. Roughly 30 minutes after Biden announced he was leaving the race, his social media team followed up with an endorsement of Harris.

My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.

😂

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2024

Meanwhile, a few relevant headlines from the last couple of weeks:

Why Kamala Harris’ Biggest Fans Aren’t Joining Calls For Her To Replace Biden (HuffPo)
Democrats Have a Kamala Harris Problem if Biden Drops Out (Newsweek)

And of course, if Biden can’t run, how can he remain president?

Shortly after Biden’s announcement, House Speaker Mike Johnson posted on X:

Rgardless of the chaos in the current White House, our adversaries around the globe should be reminded that the U.S. Congress, the U.S. military, and the American people are fully prepared and committed to defend our interests both at home and abroad.  

If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.

Johnson, ever cautious, is a little late to the game:

If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining President?

Not running for reelection would be a clear admission that President Trump was right all along about Biden not being mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

There is no middle ground.

— JD Vance (@JDVance1) July 21, 2024

Then RESIGN your office. If you can’t run a mere political campaign, you can’t be President https://t.co/wbO9fs0TyN

— Josh Hawley (@HawleyMO) July 21, 2024

Resign the presidency. If you are unable to be a candidate, then you are unable to remain as president.

If Biden refuses to resign, then he must be removed by impeachment or the 25th Amendment. This cannot be tolerated. https://t.co/wkPbbyta4K

— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) July 21, 2024

As Jonathan Turley notes:

The decision of Joe Biden to withdraw from his reelection bid raises the obvious question of how he can continue as president if he is incapable of running for that office. The Democratic Party seems to have created its own 25th Amendment, but there remains the “other” 25th Amendment.

This is a type of 25th-lite option where you lack capacity to run but not to serve for an office.

It also focuses attention on the efforts of Democrats to drop any challengers or hold any debates through the primary as millions voted for Biden. Holding a party “primary” in a matter of weeks is hardly a substitute for a primary campaign to expose candidates to prolonged.

The problem for the White House is the glaring disconnect between pulling out of the election but holding on to the office.  Pulling out as simply politically incapable of winning makes a mockery of the unopposed primary process.

Yet, pulling out do to diminished capacity makes a mockery of his political office. There is a striking lack of clarity on the basis for this historic action…

Read Biden’s message below:

My Fellow Americans,

Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation.

Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve 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’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And 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 could have been done without you. the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.

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 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.

I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.

For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.

I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.

Trump has responded to the news, posting the following on Truth Social:

Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was! He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement. All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t – And now, look what he’s done to our Country, with millions of people coming across our Border, totally unchecked and unvetted, many from prisons, mental institutions, and record numbers of terrorists. We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!

And hey, Kamala has the support of Elizabeth Warren, so there’s that, despite a disastrous conference call with 300 major Democratic donors last week.

According to Elon Musk, this was in the cards:

I heard last week that he would resign at this exact time and date. It was widespread knowledge in DC.

The real powers that be are discarding the old puppet in favor of one that has a better chance of fooling the public.

They fear Trump because he is not a puppet.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 21, 2024

The announcement came after in intense pressure campaign, after new polling showed that 60% of Americans said Biden should drop out.

The opposition included virtually the entire Democratic party – from Pelosi down, and even former Democrat (now independent) Sen. Joe Manchin, the deep state, and Democratic donors – who began pausing funds after last month’s horrific debate between Biden and Donald Trump – and most recently led by a call from Mike Novogratz to replace Biden.

“The Democratic donor base will be re-energized if there’s a fair process to pick the next candidate,” said Novogratz, the billionaire founder of Galaxy Digital Holdings, who added that if Democrats pick a centrist replacement through a nomination process, “there are a tremendous amount of donors who will cut checks.”

According to veteran Democrat operative James Carville in a statement to Semafor last week, “This I can confirm. Donors in revolt.“

“Campaigns are expensive. Sadly, the George Clooney check-writing crowd opposed to Biden remaining in the race might win out,” Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf told Newsweek in response to a recent NYT op-ed by the actor.

“He who controls the gold might make the rules, making the Democrats no different from the Republicans,” he added.

The decision to drop out came after the Clintons were reportedly privately urging Democrat donors to keep giving to Biden as long as he remains the presumptive nominee.

One of the sources said the Clintons are choosing to be “deferential to Biden’s decision.” However, the second source, who is familiar with the Clintons’ thinking and has spoken with the couple in recent days, insisted that it is more accurate to say they are “deferential to the process.”

According to this source, the Clintons have made clear in private conversations recently that it doesn’t matter what anybody says or thinks — unless Biden decides he will drop out of the 2024 race or the delegates vote for somebody else, he is the party’s presumptive nominee. -CNN

Deep State Displeased

On Friday, NBC News reported that “More than four dozen former foreign and national security officials call on Biden to drop out of race” – so the deep state is officially negative on Biden.

“We write as former U.S. officials who have strongly supported your presidency and your initiatives to strengthen U.S. foreign and national security policy,” they wrote in a letter. “We strongly believe that now is the time to pass the mantle of leadership, and we respectfully urge you to do so.”

Visualizing Biden’s post-debate downward spiral:

Via Axios

What now?

While Biden just endorsed Harris, Democrat delegates are under no obligation to support her. That said, if she is the nominee, who will she pick as her running mate?

Coincidence?

SIMULATION ALERT: TODAY IS NATIONAL ICE CREAM DAY ### pic.twitter.com/cBzZxZqCbA

— iBankCoin, A Reliable Source (@iBankCoin4tw) July 21, 2024

What will Jill do now?

Jill Biden Drops Out Of Presidential Race https://t.co/hq6RrcVcQC pic.twitter.com/NW4qMlEtmx

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) July 21, 2024