Inside Biden’s unprecedented exit from the presidential race

In the end, President Joe Biden exited the political stage in isolation.

After weeks of fighting for his political life – insisting he wasn’t going anywhere following a disastrous debate performance – the president’s about-face did not come in an Oval Office address or a speech on the campaign trail. Instead, it came in letter posted to social media as he recovered from Covid-19 at his beach house in Delaware.

It was a low-key way to reveal one of the most historic decisions in modern American politics, but time was not on Biden’s side to reach a decision or make an announcement. Never before has a president left a reelection race this close to Election Day – and for 24 days it seemed as if he were stubbornly planning to ride out the storm that followed the June 27 CNN debate in Atlanta.

He spent the three weeks after the debate repeating that he was staying in the race against former President Donald Trump. The president dug in. He insisted he could beat Trump. His inner circle shrank to his closest aides and family. He was forced to retreat to Delaware, where he reached a decision in the last day and a half, finally conceding that a man loyal to the Democratic Party for more than half a century was seen as a drag on the ticket.

Vice President Kamala Harris introduces U.S. President Joe Biden during a campaign rally at Girard College on May 29, 2024 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

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But in the end, the pressure on Biden from party leaders, rank-and-file lawmakers and donors – and the polling showing the perilous and potentially insurmountable path Biden faced amid a growing deficit with Trump – ultimately proved too much. Described as being more isolated than he had ever been, Biden could not withstand the push behind the scenes and in public. The blunt reality became a chorus of voices calling for the president to exit the race, like a boulder rolling down a mountain that only picked up momentum with each passing day.

The president’s team wanted the June CNN debate with Trump – months earlier than typical presidential debates – to shake up a race that Biden was trailing. They succeeded, but not in the way they had intended.

Instead, Biden’s campaign unraveled over the course of the next 24 days. Everything the president and his team tried to do to calm Democrats’ fears simply failed to shed the perception that Biden’s age was too advanced, and his health too fragile, for him to stay in the race.

With two posts on X Sunday afternoon, Biden bowed out of the race and threw his support behind his vice president, Kamala Harris, in the hopes of quickly coalescing their party and moving past the chaos that had engulfed Democrats since the debate.

It’s a high-risk, high-reward gamble for Democrats, resetting a campaign Biden was losing with a new nominee just 107 days before the election. It comes as Trump is at his strongest point in the campaign, coming out of a completely unified Republican National Convention with a base rallying around him after the attempt on his life.

How the decision was made

Biden’s final decision to leave the race was reached in the last 48 hours, a senior campaign adviser said, as he consulted family and top advisers by telephone while recovering from Covid. A source familiar with the matter said the plans to exit the race began Saturday night and were finalized Sunday.

The adviser said the president “was not dug in” but was studying the data coming in and became convinced he would “weigh down” the ticket and be a complication to defeating Trump.

Biden’s decision did not have to do with any medical issues, a senior White House official told CNN.

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.

There wasn’t any single poll number, wavering Democratic official or fundraiser presented in the meeting with longtime aides Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti that pushed Biden toward his decision, the person said.

Instead, the information highlighted that the path back to a viable campaign had been severely damaged by declining national and swing-state poll numbers, along with party defections that were likely to rapidly accelerate. The information included polling and details gathered from outreach outside Biden’s inner circle.

Unlike 2015, when Biden wrote in his book “Promise me, Dad” that Donilon told the then-vice president he shouldn’t launch a 2016 bid for president as he grieved the death of his son Beau, neither aide explicitly told Biden he should get out of the race, according to the person.

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during the 30th annual Essence Festival in New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S., July 6, 2024. REUTERS/Edmund D. Fountain

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Biden made clear before the end of the meeting that he was planning to pull out of the race and asked his aides to start drafting the letter he posted Sunday afternoon and preparing the plans for the rollout.

Still recovering from a Covid diagnosis, Biden remained at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, all weekend with his wife, first lady Jill Biden.

Biden did what he always planned to do before any crucial decision: He held a family meeting Saturday night. He has spoken to all of his family since making his decision to drop out of the race, and his daughter Ashley and son-in-law Howard drove to Rehoboth earlier Sunday, according to a source.

He confirmed that decision Sunday morning and, with Ricchetti by his side, started making calls to key players outside of his close-knit group of senior-most aides and family members, the other person familiar with the matter said.

Biden consulted only a very small number of close aides on the decision. Some members of his inner circle were left in the dark until minutes before he posted his announcement on social media, including one of his closest communications advisers, Anita Dunn.

Multiple sources told CNN that Dunn and a small group of senior aides became aware of Biden’s announcement in the minutes before the post. Many rank-and-file staff found out when the post came out. Dunn and her husband, Bob Bauer, were among Biden’s debate prep team and had faced the ire of the president’s family in the aftermath of the performance. A Biden aide disputed that her exclusion had anything to do with the debate, telling CNN that she, along with other top aides, was not in Rehoboth Beach, and that “the president told his aides that neither he or his family blame them for debate performance.”

Biden and Harris spoke multiple times Sunday ahead of his announcement, according to a source familiar with the matter. Biden also held separate calls with chief of staff Jeff Zients and campaign co-chair Jen O’Malley Dillon informing each of his decision.

In Washington on Sunday, Zients led a White House senior staff call with all assistants to the president in the midafternoon, as well as a call with members of Biden’s Cabinet. Zients is expected to hold an all-White House staff call Monday morning and to speak with political appointees across the executive branch.

But even his vice president, and pick to succeed him, didn’t find out until the day he announced his decision.

A ‘bad night’ changes the race

In the end, Biden was confronting an untenable path forward: More than three dozen Democrats had publicly called for him to exit the race. Party leaders had told him he couldn’t win. And the money was drying up from donors who said they felt betrayed by the lack of disclosure around the condition of Biden’s health.

“I don’t know one big donor who is going to write a check for $100,000 or more. And I know a lot of those guys,” one major Democratic donor told CNN before Biden dropped out.

Biden and his team tried to play off the debate performance as a “bad night.” He and his aides blamed the president’s overseas trip. He said he would debate again and do better. And he returned immediately to the campaign trail, traveling to North Carolina the following day and delivering an energetic speech while acknowledging his debate shortcomings.

President Joe Biden participates in the CNN debate in Atlanta on June 27, 2024.

“I know I’m not a young man. I don’t walk as easy as I used to. I don’t speak as smoothly as I used to. I don’t debate as well as I used to, but I know what I do know. I know how to tell the truth,” Biden said.

Biden huddled with his family at Camp David the weekend after the debate for a previously scheduled get-together, during which they encouraged him to stay in the race.

But in Democratic circles, panic had already set in. The issue problem was plain as day: Biden’s biggest problem with voters was they didn’t feel he was up to the job for the next four years. The debate had confirmed their fears and brought Biden’s biggest political weakness to the forefront. No policy or statement or criticism of Trump could change that.

Even as Biden insisted there was nothing that could convince him to get out of the race, Democrats began laying the groundwork and keeping the door open to a change. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi went on MSNBC, saying: “I think it’s a legitimate question to say, is this an episode, or is this a condition?”

Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas on July 2 became the first elected Democrat to call for Biden to withdraw. The following day, Biden met with a group of Democratic governors, telling them he needed more sleep and should stop scheduling events after 8 p.m.

On July 5, Biden sat down for an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos, in an attempt to demonstrate he was able to keep campaigning. In the interview, Biden said only the “Lord Almighty” could convince him to leave the race, a comment that angered many Democrats.

It was the first of several attempts from Biden’s team to put the president in the public eye and quell the growing discontent. All failed to do so.

Signs of trouble

After July 4, Sen. Mark Warner, a Virginia Democrat, quietly tried to gather a group of Democrats who would hold a meeting with Biden, potentially urging him to exit the race. The idea died, however, when the effort leaked.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a call with House Democrats over that weekend, during which several lawmakers said that Biden needed to step aside.

On July 8, Biden fired off defiant a letter to congressional Democrats saying he would continue his reelection bid. “I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump,” he wrote.

The calls for Biden to leave soon started coming from outside Washington. On July 10, George Clooney, penned a New York Times op-ed calling for Biden to step aside. Even more devastating for the president, Clooney said the Biden he saw at a June fundraiser was the same Biden the world saw at the June debate and that the president had declined since taking the Oval Office.

Pelosi also continued to raise questions about Biden, declining to endorse him in an MSNBC interview the same day as Clooney’s op-ed. “It’s up to the president to decide if he’s going to run,” she said, even if that was a decision Biden had already seemed to have made.

The logo for the Democratic National Convention is displayed at the United Center during a media walkthrough on January 18 in Chicago.

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Several news outlets, including CNN, reported that Pelosi and former President Barack Obama had privately expressed concerns about the future of Biden’s campaign.

On July 11, Biden held a solo news conference on the sidelines of the NATO summit in Washington. He opened the door a bit further to the possibility he could drop out, saying he would consider doing so if data showed he cannot win.

Biden also made several small verbal slip-ups, including calling Harris “Vice President Trump.” Earlier in the day, he had referred Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin,” before correcting himself.

After Biden’s news conference, a handful more congressional Democrats called for him to drop out, growing the number to 15. The list included Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, who said he deliberately waited until after the NATO meeting.

That weekend, Biden met and held calls with various Democratic caucuses, including the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the moderate New Democrat Coalition. The call with moderate Democrats was tense, as Biden got into it with Rep. Jason Crow, a Colorado Democrat who bluntly told him that voters are concerned about his vigor and strength, especially as it is perceived on the world stage.

The president responded to Crow – an Army Ranger who served two tours in Afghanistan and one in Iraq – that he knows Crow is a Bronze Star recipient like his late son Beau, but that “he didn’t rebuild NATO.”

At one point, Biden told Crow, “I don’t want to hear that crap” in addressing the lawmaker’s concerns.

A brief respite from demands for Biden to exit doesn’t last

More Democrats had been expected to publicly call for Biden’s exit that weekend, but the chatter came to a halt in an instant when an attempted assassin’s bullet came within millimeters of killing Trump at his Butler, Pennsylvania, rally.

The assassination attempt turned the political world on its head, draining the public focus on Biden’s ability to govern for a second term and turning it squarely onto the bullet that grazed Trump’s ear, raising a flurry of questions about how a gunman was able to shoot at the Republican nominee for president five days before he was to accept the nomination.

The pause would not last.

Behind the scenes, Democratic pollsters circulated memos showing Biden was on track to lose the election, and – importantly to congressional Democrats – damage candidates in ballot races, too. Some polling showed other Democrats outpacing Biden in battleground states.

“Lose everything,” was how one Democrat described a polling memo Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg had sent to Biden’s inner circle.

The dam reopened on Wednesday when California Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic Senate candidate and leader of Trump’s first impeachment, became the first lawmaker to join the public calls for Biden to withdraw from the campaign after the assassination attempt.

Schiff’s place in the party – as a potential soon-to-be senator and close ally to Pelosi – made his voice among the most significant to that point.

“While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch,” Schiff said in a statement.

Party leaders deliver a blunt message

More voices soon followed. And arguably more importantly, the private pleas for Biden to leave the race became part of a public cacophony of voices urging his withdrawal.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the Maryland House Democrat who led Trump’s second impeachment, confirmed that he had written a letter to Biden on July 6 encouraging the president that there was “no shame in taking a well-deserved bow” out of the 2024 presidential election – and making his argument with comparisons to George Washington and Red Sox pitching great Pedro Martinez.

CNN reported Wednesday that Pelosi privately told Biden that polling showed he could not defeat Trump and that he could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November. Biden pushed back, saying he had seen polls indicating he could win. At one point, Pelosi asked Donilon, Biden’s longtime adviser, to get on the line to talk over the data.

That same day, ABC News reported that Schumer told Biden in their Saturday meeting that it would be best if he bowed out of the presidential race. And a person briefed on the meeting between Biden and Jeffries said that the Democratic House leader stopped short of calling on him to step aside – instead pinning the suggestion on his members.

The White House and congressional officers tried to tamp down the reports, issuing statements of denial. But the stories about the party leaders delivering Biden a message had their effect. On Friday, a dozen new Democrats released statements saying Biden should exit the race.

Among them: Another close Pelosi ally, Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California. A source with direct knowledge described Biden on Friday as “seething” at Pelosi, a sentiment that only grew in light of Lofgren’s letter.

Donors revolt, too

The public statements from Democrats illustrated one element of Biden’s challenge to stay in the race – but just as important were the defections from his donors that would have dried up fundraising in the home stretch of the campaign.

Major Democratic donors were skeptical of Biden’s viability, and multiple said their concerns had received an icy reception from Biden campaign officials.

“How do you think we feel?” a Democratic donor close to the Democratic National Committee and the White House told CNN before Biden dropped out, explaining the mood among donors. “We all feel betrayed that they were not honest with us about his health.”

Two sources told CNN on Thursday that furious donors were also telling House and Senate Democratic campaign committees they would freeze contributions unless and until party leaders took stronger steps to get Biden to step aside.

“Yes, that card has been played,” a senior House Democrat told CNN on Thursday night.

“They believe if Joe is at the top of the ticket, the House and Senate are gone, too,” said a Democratic strategist intimately involved in big-dollar fundraising. “They don’t want to throw good money after bad.”

Moments after Biden’s announcement, donors abruptly began reaching out to advisers, pouring in money, according to sources involved in the discussions. In the lead-up to Biden’s decision to exit the 2024 race, multiple donors had reached out to Harris’ team proactively to signal they would be willing to support her if she ran at the top of the ticket, according to three people familiar with the discussions.

Joe Biden speaks in Wilmington, Delaware, in November 2020. The next day, he became President-elect.

Biden carries his sons Beau, left, and Hunter while attending a Democratic convention in Delaware in 1972. At center is his first wife, Neilia, and on the left are future Gov. Sherman W. Tribbitt and his wife, Jeanne. Biden, a member of the New Castle County Council, was running for one of Delaware's US Senate seats, and he won that November at the age of 29.

Biden cuts a cake at his 30th birthday party in November 1972, shortly after winning the Senate election. A few weeks later, Neilia Biden died in a car accident while Christmas shopping. Their baby daughter, Naomi, was also killed in the wreck. The two boys were badly injured, but they survived.

Biden speaks with US President Jimmy Carter at a fundraising event in Delaware in 1978. Later that year, Biden was re-elected to the Senate. He kept getting re-elected until he resigned in 2009 and became Barack Obama's vice president.

Biden talks with Egyptian President Anwar Sadat after the signing of the Egyptian-Israel Peace Treaty in 1979.

In 1987, Biden entered the 1988 presidential race. But he dropped out three months later following reports of plagiarism and false claims about his academic record.

In February 1988, Biden had surgery to repair an aneurysm in an artery that supplies blood to the brain. Here, he sits in his office after returning to work.

Biden, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, laughs with students as he visits a high school in Kabul, Afghanistan, in 2002.

Biden, second from left, participates in a 2007 presidential debate with other Democratic candidates. With Biden, from left, are John Edwards, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Biden signs his book "Promises to Keep" at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, in 2007.

Biden takes the vice president oath of office next to his second wife, Jill, in January 2009. Biden had to resign from the Senate, where he had held office since 1973.

Biden and Obama put their arms around each other after Obama's health care overhaul was passed in March 2009. It was the biggest expansion of health care guarantees in more than four decades, and it represented a significant step toward the goal of universal coverage, which had been sought by every Democratic President since Harry Truman.

Biden sits with Obama and members of Obama's national security team as they monitor the mission against Osama bin Laden in May 2011. (Editor's note: The classified document in front of Hillary Clinton was obscured by the White House.)

Biden speaks at the convention of Florida's Democratic Party in October 2011. Biden said he and Obama had made progress on fixing problems they inherited from Republicans, but he said the GOP was using obstructionist tactics to keep the administration from doing more for the economy and middle class.

Biden whistles to get someone's attention as he stands with a high school marching band in Euclid, Ohio, in November 2011.

Obama and Biden laugh together as they attend a basketball game in July 2012.

Biden speaks on the final day of the Democratic National Convention in September 2012.

Biden talks to some bikers at a Seaman, Ohio, diner in September 2012.

Biden holds a baby during a campaign event in Eau Claire, Wisconsin, in September 2012.

Biden debates US Rep. Paul Ryan, Mitt Romney's running mate, in the run-up to the 2012 election.

Biden salutes as he boards Air Force One in November 2012.

Biden makes a cameo in the TV show "Parks and Recreation" in 2012. The show's main character, played by Amy Poehler, touched Biden's face and laughed awkwardly when they met.

Biden listens to Obama speak about gun reform in December 2012. In the wake of a shooting at a Connecticut elementary school, Obama tapped Biden to lead an administration-wide effort against gun violence. But fierce resistance to new gun legislation thwarted nearly all of the administration's plans.

Biden hands a vote certificate to US Rep. Robert Brady as Congress officially counts the Electoral College votes in January 2013. Obama and Biden were elected to a second term in November 2012.

Biden and his wife, Jill, dance during an inaugural ball in January 2013.

Biden awards the Medal of Valor to William Reynolds, a battalion chief with the Virginia Beach Fire Department, during a ceremony in Washington, DC, in February 2013. Biden presented the award to public safety officers who had exhibited exceptional courage, regardless of personal safety, in the attempt to save or protect others from harm.

Biden gets ready to pay for an ice cream cone in Portland, Oregon, in October 2014. He was in Portland campaigning for US Sen. Jeff Merkley.

Biden tours a dredging barge along the Delaware River in October 2014. During his visit, the vice president discussed the importance of investing in the nation's infrastructure.

Biden talks to Stephanie Carter as her husband, Ashton Carter, delivers a speech at the White House in February 2015. Ashton Carter had just been sworn in as the country's new Secretary of Defense, but it was Biden's hands-on whisper that went viral on social media.

Biden wears his signature aviator sunglasses as he addresses graduating students at Yale University in May 2015.

Biden pauses with his family as they enter a visitation for his son, former Delaware Attorney General Beau Biden, in June 2015. Biden's eldest son died at the age of 46 after a battle with brain cancer.

Biden and Obama share a light moment at the White House, where Obama spoke at a reception honoring Hispanic Heritage Month in October 2015.

Biden points at Obama during Obama's final State of the Union address in January 2016.

Biden speaks on stage during the Academy Awards in February 2016. Before introducing Lady Gaga's performance of "Til It Happens to You," Biden encouraged Americans to take action against sexual assault on college campuses. "Let's change the culture," Biden said. "We must, and we can."

Biden waves to the crowd before speaking at the Democratic National Convention in July 2016.

Biden surprises Obama on his birthday in August 2016.

Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton greets Biden on an airport tarmac in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in August 2016. Watch CNN's Jeanne Moos on the "endless embrace."

Biden greets Ruth Bonner, a 99-year-old daughter of a young slave who escaped to freedom, as he and his wife attend the September 2016 opening of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Biden shakes hands with his successor, Mike Pence, after they had lunch in Washington, DC, in November 2016.

Biden wipes away tears as Obama surprises him with the Presidential Medal of Freedom in January 2017. "For your faith in your fellow Americans, for your love of country and for your lifetime of service that will endure through the generations, I'd like to ask the military aide to join us on stage," Obama said in the ceremony. "For my final time as President, I am pleased to award our nation's highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom."

Biden poses for a photo with a dog named Biden as he greets a crowd on Capitol Hill in March 2017.

Biden speaks at a fundraising dinner for New Hampshire Democrats in April 2017. Biden, who advisers said was nowhere near making a decision on whether to run for president in 2020, addressed the question head-on. "Guys, I'm not running!" he said with a smile, as the audience in the hotel ballroom booed in response.

Biden tosses his jacket off stage as he begins to speak at a rally in Pittsburgh in April 2019. Days earlier, he announced that he would be running for president for a third time.

Biden is confronted by US Sen. Kamala Harris during the first Democratic debates in June 2019. Harris went after Biden over his early-career opposition to federally mandated busing. "I did not oppose busing in America," Biden told Harris. "What I opposed is busing ordered by the Department of Education."

Biden takes a selfie with supporters in Detroit after CNN's Democratic debates in July 2019.

Biden is questioned about his son Hunter during a campaign stop in New Hampton, Iowa, in December 2019. Biden grew visibly frustrated with the man, calling him a "damn liar" after the man accused Biden of sending his son to Ukraine "to get a job and work for a gas company, that he had no experience with gas, nothing." Hunter Biden served on the board of a Ukrainian gas company while his father was vice president. He said recently he used "poor judgment" in serving on the board of the company while his father was pushing anti-corruption measures in Ukraine on behalf of the US government, but he added that he didn't do anything improper. There is no evidence of wrongdoing by either Joe or Hunter Biden.

Biden speaks with Jacquelyn Brittany, a security guard at The New York Times, in December 2019. Brittany was escorting Biden to a Times editorial board meeting when she said: "I love you. I do. You're like my favorite." The exchange was aired as part of the Times' TV series "The Weekly," and was circulated on social media. In August 2020, Brittany gave the first speech officially nominating Biden for president at the Democratic National Convention. "I take powerful people up on my elevator all the time," Brittany said. "When they get off, they go to their important meetings. Me, I just head back to the lobby. But in the short time I spent with Joe Biden, I could tell he really saw me. That he actually cared, that my life meant something to him. And I knew even when he went into his important meeting, he'd take my story in there with him." Biden responded on Twitter: "Jacquelyn: Your nomination means the world to me. Thank you — and I hope you know: we love you back."

Biden speaks at a caucus-night rally in Des Moines, Iowa, in February 2020. He finished a disappointing fourth.

Biden rallied from early setbacks in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, winning the South Carolina primary in February 2020. "Just days ago, the press and pundits had declared this candidacy dead," Biden said in his speech to supporters. "Because of you, the heart of the Democratic Party, we just won and we won big because of you. We are very much alive."

Biden puts his hands on the shoulders of Pete Buttigieg as Buttigieg endorses him for president in March 2020. Buttigieg, the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana, had just dropped out of the Democratic race.

Biden's wife, Jill, blocks a protester who charged the stage during his Super Tuesday speech in Los Angeles in March 2020. The protester was holding a sign that said "Let dairy die."

Biden and US Sen. Kamala Harris greet each other at a Detroit high school as they attend a "Get Out the Vote" event in March 2020. Harris had dropped out of the presidential race a few months earlier.

Biden has a testy exchange about gun rights as he tours a Fiat Chrysler assembly plant in Detroit in March 2020. A man confronted Biden and accused the former vice president of trying to "take away our guns." Biden responded, "You're full of s***" and tried to clarify his policies, saying he supports the Second Amendment.

Biden greets US Sen. Bernie Sanders with an elbow bump before the start of their one-on-one debate in Washington, DC, in March 2020. The two Democrats went with an elbow bump instead of a handshake because of the coronavirus pandemic. Sanders ended his presidential campaign the following month, clearing Biden's path to the Democratic nomination.

In May 2020, Biden denied a former aide's claims that he sexually assaulted her 27 years ago. "This never happened," Biden said of Tara Reade's allegation. In an interview with MSNBC, Biden said he did not know why Reade was now making the allegation.

On Memorial Day, the Bidens lay a wreath at the Veterans Memorial Park in New Castle, Delaware. In a CNN interview, Biden called President Donald Trump "an absolute fool" for sharing a tweet that mocked him for wearing a mask.

Biden touches his face while speaking at a church in Wilmington, Delaware, in June 2020. As he spoke with African-American leaders, Biden pledged to take steps to combat institutional racism and re-establish a police oversight body at the Justice Department.

People are socially distanced from one another as Biden speaks in Darby, Pennsylvania, in June 2020.

Biden holds handwritten notes that reference US Sen. Kamala Harris in July 2020. The talking points fueled fresh speculation about Harris' standing as a possible running mate.

Biden calls Harris from his Delaware home to inform her that she was his choice for vice president.

Biden and Harris walk out for their first campaign event as a presidential ticket.

Biden accepts the Democratic Party's presidential nomination during a speech at the Democratic National Convention. "This campaign isn't just about winning votes," Biden said. "It is about winning the heart and, yes, the soul of America."

Biden joins hands with Harris after the Democratic National Convention in August 2020. They are joined on stage by Biden's wife, Jill, and Harris' husband, Douglas Emhoff.

Biden speaks to supporters from a distance after meeting with labor leaders in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, in September 2020. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, Biden has taken a careful approach to campaigning.

Biden greets Vice President Mike Pence as they attend a ceremony at the 9/11 Memorial in New York City.

Biden speaks to reporters before boarding his campaign plane in Duluth, Minnesota, in September 2020.

People sitting in social-distancing circles are reflected in Biden's sunglasses as he speaks in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Biden takes part in the first presidential debate in September 2020. At center is moderator Chris Wallace, who had his hands full as the debate often devolved into shouting, rancor and cross talk that sometimes made it impossible to follow what either candidate was talking about.

Biden is reminded by his wife, Jill, to maintain proper social distancing as he speaks to reporters at an airport in Miami in October 2020.

Biden sits across from ABC News' George Stephanopoulos before the start of his town-hall event in Philadelphia in October 2020. Biden and Trump held separate town halls instead of debating each other in a town-hall format. The schedule change came about after Trump was diagnosed with the coronavirus. The Commission on Presidential Debates proposed a virtual debate, but Trump refused to take part and Biden went ahead with plans for his own town hall. Trump's campaign later arranged its own town hall — on a different network, during the same hour.

Biden speaks during his debate with Trump in October 2020. Because their first debate quickly descended into a glorified shouting match, the Commission on Presidential Debates instituted an unprecedented change this time around: The candidates had their microphones cut off while their opponent responded to the first question of each of the debate's six segments.

Biden delivers remarks in the rain during a drive-in rally in Tampa, Florida, in October 2020.

Biden is joined by his running mate, US Sen. Kamala Harris, after Election Day came and went without a winner. "After a long night of counting, it's clear that we are winning enough states to reach 270 electoral votes needed to win the presidency," Biden told supporters at a drive-in rally in Wilmington, Delaware. "I'm not here to declare that we have won. But I am here to report when the count is finished, we believe we will be the winners."

Biden's wife, Jill, tweeted this photo after her husband was projected as the winner of the presidential race. "He will be a President for all of our families," she said.

Biden gives his first speech as president-elect, addressing supporters at a drive-in event in Wilmington, Delaware. "Tonight the whole world is watching America, and I believe that at our best, America is a beacon for the globe," Biden said in his speech. "We will lead not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example."

Biden introduces the men and women he was nominating to join his national security and foreign policy team. "It's a team that will keep our country and our people safe and secure," Biden said. "And it's a team that reflects the fact that America is back, ready to lead the world, not retreat from it."

Biden, center, waves after speaking at a campaign rally in Atlanta for US Senate candidates Raphael Warnock, second from left, and Jon Ossoff, second from right, in December 2020. Both candidates won their runoff races, giving Democrats control of the Senate.

Biden receives a Covid-19 vaccination in Newark, Delaware, in December 2020.

Biden speaks in Wilmington, Delaware, after the US Capitol was breached in January 2021. Biden was planning to deliver a speech on the economy, but he scrapped his speech and instead addressed the chaos and violence in Washington, DC. He said the rioting amounted to an "unprecedented assault" on US democracy. "This is not dissent. It's disorder. It's chaos," he said. "It borders on sedition, and it must end now."

Biden tears up in New Castle, Delaware, as he speaks about his late son Beau before heading to Washington, DC, for his inauguration. Biden said he was proud to be delivering his send-off remarks from the National Guard Center in New Castle, which is named after Beau Biden. "I only have one regret: that he's not here, because we should be introducing him as president," Biden said.

Biden and his wife, Jill, walk out for his inauguration in January 2021.

Biden is sworn in as president by Chief Justice John Roberts as his wife holds the Bible. Biden's children Ashley and Hunter are on the right. "Today, on this January day, my whole soul is in this: bringing America together, uniting our people, uniting our nation," Biden said in his inaugural address.

Biden signs three documents after his swearing-in ceremony: his inauguration day proclamation, his nominations for the Cabinet and his nominations for sub-Cabinet positions.

Biden arrives at the White House for the first time as president.

Biden poses with his dogs, Champ and Major, in the Oval Office in February 2021. The German shepherds marked a return to a longstanding tradition of Presidents and their families bringing their pets with them to the White House. Champ died in June 2021 at the age of 13.

Biden speaks from the White House Treaty Room in April 2021 as he announced his decision to withdraw American troops from Afghanistan before September 11. "I am now the fourth American president to preside over an American troop presence in Afghanistan. Two Republicans. Two Democrats," Biden said. "I will not pass this responsibility to a fifth."

Biden addresses a joint session of Congress in April 2021. Because of Covid-19 restrictions, only a limited number of lawmakers were in the House chamber. Biden's speech focused on the administration's accomplishments thus far and unveiled key components of his next legislative push.

The Bidens met with former President Jimmy Carter and former first lady Rosalynn Carter at the Carters' home in Plains, Georgia, in April 2021. The photo grabbed people's attention on social media because of what appeared to be a significant size difference between the two couples. While many experts theorized that it was the result of a wide-angle lens, Adam Schultz, the chief official White House photographer, declined to explain when reached by The New York Times.

A security officer asks the media to step back at the start of a summit between Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2021. Seated from left are US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, Biden, Putin and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. The summit, held in Geneva, Switzerland, was the first meeting of Biden and Putin since Biden was elected President.

The Bidens visit a memorial near the partially collapsed building in Surfside, Florida, in July 2021. Biden traveled to Surfside to console families still waiting on news of their loved ones. Their meetings were closed to the press.

Biden pauses as he listens to a question about a suicide bombing in Afghanistan that killed Afghan civilians and US service members in August 2021. The terror group ISIS-K, which rivals the Taliban in Afghanistan, claimed responsibility for the bombing. "We will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay," he said.

Biden and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi depart following a meeting with the House Democratic Caucus in October 2021. Biden was at the Capitol to lay out the framework of his economic plan and make his case for it.

Biden gives Pope Francis a challenge coin during his trip to the Vatican in October 2021. Between them is Italian translator Elisabetta Savigni Ullmann. It was the fourth meeting between Francis and Biden, but their first since Biden became President. Biden, a devout lifelong Catholic, met with the Pope for 90 minutes and said he discussed "a lot of personal things" with the pontiff.

Biden signs a bipartisan infrastructure bill into law during a White House ceremony in November 2021. The $1.2 trillion legislation focuses on infrastructure such as roads and bridges.

Biden speaks to the press as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland in July 2022. The following morning, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the President had tested positive for Covid-19.

President Joe Biden speaks from the Capitol in January 2022 to mark the one-year anniversary of the Capitol riot. In his remarks, Biden forcefully called out former President Donald Trump for attempting to undo American democracy. "For the first time in our history, a president had not just lost an election. He tried to prevent the peaceful transfer of power as a violent mob reached the Capitol," Biden said. "But they failed. They failed. And on this day of remembrance, we must make sure that such an attack never, never happens again."

Biden addresses the National League of Cities' Congressional City Conference in March 2022.

Biden holds hands with Ketanji Brown Jackson as the Senate votes on her nomination to the US Supreme Court in April 2022. Jackson was confirmed and made history as the first Black woman on the court.

Biden hands West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin the pen used to sign the Inflation Reduction Act at the White House in August 2022. Also pictured from left are Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Majority Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn, New Jersey Rep. Frank Pallone and Florida Rep. Kathy Castor.

Biden and former President Barack Obama attend a campaign event for Democratic senatorial candidate John Fetterman and Democratic nominee for Pennsylvania governor Josh Shapiro in November 2022. Fetterman went on to defeat opponent Mehmet Oz in one of the most closely-watched races of the midterms.

The Bidens attend the wedding of their oldest granddaughter, Naomi Biden Neal, and Peter Neal at the White House in November 2022. See the history of White House weddings.

Biden greets Border Patrol agents near the Mexican border in El Paso, Texas, in January 2023. He was making his first visit to the southern border as president.

US Sen. Raphael Warnock, the pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church, greets Biden during a worship service in Atlanta in January 2023. It was on the eve of Martin Luther King Jr. Day. King was co-pastor of the church from 1960 until his assassination in 1968. Biden became the first sitting president to deliver a Sunday sermon from the historic church.

Biden walks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky during a surprise visit to Kyiv, Ukraine, in February 2023.

Biden gestures during the Democratic National Committee's winter meeting in Philadelphia in February 2023.

Biden speaks while children dressed as Secret Service agents "guard" the stage in Washington, DC, in April 2023. It was national Take Your Child to Work Day.

Biden, seen through a window, delivers his first-ever address from the White House Oval Office in June 2023. He declared bipartisanship alive and well as he pointed to the compromise measure that raised the federal borrowing limit and avoided a catastrophic default.

Biden reviews royal guards in front of Britain's King Charles III during a welcoming ceremony in Windsor, England, in July 2023. It was Biden's second trip to Windsor Castle since taking office.

Biden and the first lady sit under an umbrella at Rehoboth Beach in Delaware in August 2023.

Shawn Fain, president of the United Auto Workers, speaks as Biden, center, joins striking union members on the picket line in Belleville, Michigan, in September 2023. Biden made history by being the first sitting president to join a picket line.

Biden, center right, is greeted by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after arriving at the Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, Israel, in October 2023. Biden capped his trip by sending an emphatic message of support to Israel, promising new aid to Netanyahu's government as it prepared fresh action against Hamas.

Biden speaks at a campaign event in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, in January 2024.

Biden delivers the annual State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress in March 2024. It was a high-stakes moment as he looked to convince voters to give him a second term in the White House.

Harris embraces Biden after a speech in Raleigh, North Carolina, in March 2024. The rare joint appearance highlighted the emphasis that the duo will place on health care, which they believe is a winning issue for them ahead of November's election.

Biden puts on a Kansas City Chiefs football helmet as he welcomes the Super Bowl champions to the White House in May 2024.

Biden embraces his son Hunter on a tarmac in Wilmington, Delaware, in June 2024. A federal jury convicted Hunter Biden on all three federal felony gun charges he faced, concluding that he violated laws meant to prevent drug addicts from owning firearms.

Biden and other world leaders watch a parachute drop demonstration during the first day of the G7 summit in Bari, Italy, in June 2024.

Biden appeared to struggle with his delivery at multiple points of a CNN presidential debate with Trump in June 2024. It was the first time in history that a sitting US president faced a former president in a debate. Biden's shaky debate performance set off alarm bells among top Democrats, leaving some to openly question whether Biden could stay atop of the Democratic ticket.

In July 2024, the president had back-to-back slip-ups on the last day of the NATO summit in Washington, referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, right, as "President Putin" before correcting himself at one event and then referring to Harris as "Vice President Trump" in a news conference.

Biden addresses the nation from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in July 2024. A day after the attempted assassination of former President Trump, Biden called on the country to "lower the temperature in our politics" in a speech from the Oval Office later that day.

Biden speaks to the nation from the Oval Office in July 2024 on his decision to step aside from the 2024 presidential race, calling it a matter of saving democracy. "I revere this office. But I love my country more," he said.

Biden receives a sticker after he voted early in New Castle, Delaware, in October 2024.

In pictures: President Joe Biden

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Stubborn resistance gives way

Up until the moment he dropped out, Biden and his team insisted he was staying in.

Biden’s team created a public schedule for the president over the past week that was intended to show his ability to stay in the race.

On Monday, he held another television interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt, where he acknowledged his subpar debate performance while criticizing the media for focusing on his gaffes instead of Trump’s falsehoods. Biden again said he had no intention of stepping aside.

Biden then traveled to Las Vegas for campaign stops, speeches planned at the NAACP National Convention and the UnidosUS annual conference, and interviews with BET and Univision. Biden told BET News’ Ed Gordon that the only thing that would push him to reconsider his reelection bid would be a “medical condition.”

The president spoke at the NAACP conference, but before he could make his speech Wednesday at UnidosUS, he was dealt another blow: the positive Covid-19 diagnosis.

The president returned to his Rehoboth Beach home that day to isolate, his public schedule shuttered indefinitely while he recovered.

FILE - President Lyndon Johnson tells a nationwide audience that he would not seek nor accept "the nomination of my party for another term as your president," March 31, 1968, from his White House office. The presidential primaries were already underway when Johnson announced that he would not seek a second term. (AP Photo, File)

Related article Here’s what happened the last time a president chose not to run for a second term

On Friday, Biden issued a statement that he would be back on the campaign trail the following week, while Biden campaign chair O’Malley Dillon went on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” to say Biden was “absolutely” staying in the race.

The campaign also put out a memo saying there was “no plan for an alternative nominee.”

Biden called some Democrats over the weekend who were out on TV on his behalf. Two told CNN that the president voiced his gratitude and then his anger at those who were trying to push him out. “There was some hurt in his voice but mostly anger,” one of the Biden loyalists said.

Even on Sunday, Biden’s team continued to publicly maintain he wasn’t going anywhere. South Carolina Rep. James Clyburn, a key Biden ally, told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union” that Biden and Harris “have received over 14 million votes to be our standard bearers. That’s where we are,” Clyburn. The congressman’s 2020 endorsement of Biden ahead of the South Carolina primary was widely seen as instrumental in Biden’s victory.

Biden spoke to Harris on Sunday before announcing his decision, which came in two messages: The first saying he was dropping out, and the second endorsing his vice president to be the Democratic nominee.

Biden told his senior-most team he was getting out around 1:45 p.m., and the public letter went out right around then, a source familiar with the timing told CNN.

“Before that, it was all steam ahead that he’s running,” the same source said.

This story has been updated with additional reporting.

CNN’s Kayla Tausche, Dana Bash, John King, Jamie Gangel, Betsy Klein, Sam Fossum, Manu Raju, Samantha Waldenberg, Donald Judd and Kaitlan Collins contributed to this report.