Biden told staff of decision to quit presidential race, 1 minute before he made it public
- Biden said it was never his intention to leave the race – until he decided to step aside on Sunday
At 1:45pm on Sunday, President Joe Biden’s senior staff was notified that he was stepping away from the 2024 race. At 1:46pm, that message was made public.
It was never Biden’s intention to leave the race: Up until he decided to step aside on Sunday, he was all in.
His campaign was planning fundraisers and events and setting up travel over the next few weeks. But even as Biden was publicly dug in and insisting he was staying in the race, he was quietly reflecting on the disaster of the past few weeks, on the past three years of his presidency and on the scope of his half-century career in politics.
In the end, it was the president’s decision alone, and he made it quietly, from his holiday home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, sick with Covid-19, the first lady with him as he talked it through with a small circle of people who have been with him for decades.
“This has got to be one of the hardest decisions he’s ever made,” said Senator Chris Coons of Delawar., the president’s closest ally in Congress, who spoke with him Sunday. “I know he wanted to fight and keep going and show that he could beat Donald Trump again, but as he heard more and more input, I think he was wrestling with what would be the best for the country,” Coons said.
This story is based on interviews with more than a dozen people familiar with the president’s thinking over the past few weeks, days and hours as he made his decision. They spoke on condition of anonymity to talk about private discussions.