Joe Biden‘s family immediately showed their support for him after he made the stunning announcement he was dropping his re-election bid.
Jill Biden sent him her love, retweeting his letter with two red hearts.
Naomi Biden, the Bidens’ eldest granddaughter, wrote a long post on X, where she said she was ‘proud’ of her ‘pop,’ which is what the grandchildren call President Biden.
President Biden offered his endorsement to his running mate, Kamala Harris, after his exit. His move throws the presidential race into chaos, but leaves time for Democrats to get their house in order before their August convention.
Naomi Biden with Jill Biden and Joe Biden in October 2021
Biden, 81, who is suffering from COVID, is at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with his wife Jill. They have been holed up there with his closest advisers and they pondered their political future.
He had been under tremendous pressure from people in his party to step down after his terrible debate performance against Donald Trump.
‘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,’ he wrote in a letter to the American people.
His family, who was an influential factor in his decision, stood by him.
‘I’m nothing but proud today of my Pop, our President, Joe Biden, who has served our country with every bit of his soul and with unmatched distinction. Not only has he been—and will continue to be—the most effective president of our lifetime, but he has likely already cemented himself as the most effective and impactful public servant in our nation’s history,’ Naomi Biden wrote on X.
‘He has been at the center of, and had a material impact on, literally every single major issue that our country and world has faced for 50 years. Our world is better today in so many ways thanks to him. To the Americans who have always had his back, keep the faith. He will always have ours.’
Joe Biden endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the nominee.
The Democrats will nominate their candidate at their convention next month.
The Democratic National Convention is set to kick off August 19 through 22 in Chicago where Biden had been set to formally accept the nomination having received 3,896 delegates during the primaries.
Because Biden exited the race before officially becoming the nominee – the more than 3,900 pledged delegates get to cast their ballots in an open convention for whichever candidate they want. They may line up behind Harris, who, because of federal law, is the only candidate that can use the money Biden has raised for the 2024 race. The delegates will hold a vote on the convention floor.
If a candidate wins the majority of pledged delegates on the first ballot, they become the party nominee.
If no candidate gets a majority, then the so-called nearly 740 superdelegates, also known as automatic delegates, get to vote as well. They include a mix of party members and elected officials.
Voting continues until a candidate gets a majority of delegates.