On April 25, 2023, after months of speculation, Biden confirmed that he would run for reelection to the presidency in the 2024 presidential election with Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate. Biden faced opposition from Representative
Dean Phillips during the 2024 Democratic Party presidential primaries. Phillips
campaigned as a younger alternative to Biden, who would be a stronger opponent for Trump. On March 6, 2024, Phillips suspended his campaign and endorsed Biden.
Debate with Trump Biden and Trump faced each other in a televised debate on June 27, 2024. Described as a "disaster" for Biden, the debate reinforced concerns about Biden's age. Biden appeared confused and disoriented during the debate's first half and gave meandering answers to questions. He failed to recall statistics or coherently express his opinion on several occasions. The resulting political turmoil within the Democratic Party was referred to as the "Biden crisis".
Politico's article on the debate was entitled, "Dems freak out over Biden’s debate performance: 'Biden is toast'". Prior to Biden's withdrawal, the word
Joever, a portmanteau of
Joe and
over, was used by critics and media to describe the state of Biden's campaign. Though the word was first coined in a
meme on
4chan's
/pol/ imageboard in 2020, the word's usage in social media posts and major media stories increased significantly following the debate. Following the debate, Biden faced calls from fellow Democrats and from the
editorial boards of major news outlets to withdraw from the race. On July 2, Representative
Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) became the first sitting Democrat in Congress to call on Biden to drop out after the debate. He said, “Unlike Trump, Biden really does want to put the country first. He can put the country first by putting himself aside.” However, former President
Bill Clinton, former President
Barack Obama, Vice President
Kamala Harris, Senate Democratic Leader
Chuck Schumer, and California Gov.
Gavin Newsom publicly defended Biden and supported his continued candidacy. On July 3, twenty Democratic governors met with Biden at the White House and virtually to discuss the debate's effect on his campaign. Following the meeting, Governors
Wes Moore of Maryland,
Kathy Hochul of New York, and
Tim Walz of Minnesota spoke to the press outside of the White House, with Walz specifically admitting that "Thursday night was a bad performance" and a "bad hit". Biden stated in an
ABC News interview with
George Stephanopoulos on July 5 that he would not end his candidacy unless "the Lord Almighty came down and said, 'Joe, get out of the race'". He added, "The Lord Almighty's not coming down." According to
Politico, "Members of Congress and top Democratic operatives" said that "the president was more energetic and forceful than he was on stage during last week's showdown with Donald Trump — but it likely won't be enough to tame the panic" concerning his campaign. On July 8, 2024,
The Wall Street Journal reported that Biden's team had limited his schedule, personal interactions, media appearances, interviews, and unscripted exchanges in order to minimize concerns about his age and mental acuity. According to
Newsweek, the
Wall Street Journal report stated that Biden "was having 'good and bad days' as far back as 2021". The Biden campaign attempted to reduce the intensity of the pressure on Biden to withdraw from the race until he could be formally nominated in a virtual roll call vote prior to the
Democratic National Convention. In a sports analogy, this effort was described as "
running out the clock". At the July 2024
NATO summit, Biden mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "'President Putin'". He then corrected himself. (
Vladimir Putin is the president of Russia, with whom Ukraine was
at war at the time.) Later at the same event, Biden confused his running mate with his opponent. When asked a question regarding Vice President
Kamala Harris, he responded, "'Look, I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president [if I didn't] think she was not qualified to be president'". On July 17,
ABC News reported that
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had met with Biden on July 12 and 13, respectively, and had expressed concerns to Biden about potential Democratic losses in Congress that could result from the continuation of his campaign. Biden reportedly told Schumer that he needed another week to make a decision. Later on July 17, Biden tested positive for
COVID-19. He experienced mild symptoms, including a cough, runny nose, and "general
malaise". However, images of him looking frail exiting from
Air Force One on the way to isolation at his residence in
Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, fueled further speculation over his health.
The New York Times reported that Biden was "more receptive" to withdrawing his nomination. In phone conversations, former House speaker
Nancy Pelosi told Biden she was pessimistic about his candidacy. By July 19, 2024, more than 30 congressional Democrats had publicly called on Biden to end his presidential campaign. Many more had communicated the same message privately.
CNN reported that on July 20, Biden met with advisors
Steve Ricchetti and
Mike Donilon. During that meeting, the group concluded that worsening poll numbers and a loss of party support had left the campaign without a plausible path to victory. That evening, Biden began planning a possible exit from the race with Ricchetti, Donilon, and other close aides, and he fully committed to the decision on the morning of July 21. ==Biden's withdrawal and replacement==