The historic decision by Joe Biden to exit the presidential race may have come about in just 48 hours, but the events that pushed him to bow out had been unravelling for the last 25 days behind the scenes.
After his disastrous debate performance, the Biden campaign floundered and the ripples were felt when donors began withholding money. Polls showed that voters didn’t feel Biden was up to the job for the next four years.
Many Democratic congressional members openly called on Biden to drop out. This included his staunch supporters like Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., who urged the 81-year-old president to end his presidential campaign and "pass the torch to a new generation."
There were also reports that Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer visited Biden in his Delaware home and had a "heart-to-heart talk" with Biden about leaving the race. However, till a day ago, the President was adamant about running and believed he could defeat Donald Trump.
Even his his statement post the Covid diagnosis, Biden held hope. "I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to continue exposing the threat of Donald Trump's Project 2025 agenda while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America: one where we save our democracy, protect our rights," he said.
His hopes to ride out the storm began to falter after donors and allies began to alienate him. A person close to Biden's circle told how the President was "frustrated and felt betrayed" by allies who turned on him in his hour of need. He was particularly irked at the former House of
Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, whom Biden and his team believed was planning a pressure campaign to get him to stand down.
However, it took the agonising poll numbers to finally convince Biden that he cannot sustain the campaign. He spent the last 48 hours holed up in his room studying all of the data coming in. He then changed his mind and gathered his senior White House and campaign team for a call shortly before 1:45 p.m. on Sunday, moments before announcing his decision to the public. Present were long-time senior aides Annie Tomasini, Steve Richetti and Mike Donilon and a top aide to First Lady Jill Biden, Anthony Bernal.
Biden also held a family meeting Saturday night where he informed his family members about the decision. His daughter Ashley and son-in-law Howard drove to Rehoboth earlier Sunday, a source told CNN.
The President asked two of his closest advisors to draft the letter. White House chief of staff Jeff Zients called senior White House staff to informthem of the decision. The news came as a surprise to them. However, reports said Biden was in touch with Vice President Kamala Harris multiple times that day.
