Despite weeks of crisis talks and dozens of Democrats calling for him to step down, Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw was made at the last minute.
HOW IT ALL STARTED
The 81-year-old president was isolating with COVID at his $3.4 million holiday home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, when his shrinking inner circle handed him polling data showing he could no longer beat Donald Trump.
That was when they composed a letter saying it was time for him to step aside for the good of the future of the Democratic party.
Donors had pulled millions of dollars in funds, the list of Democrats telling him to drop out was growing by the day, and polls suggested that his chances of beating Donald Trump were dwindling after his disastrous debate performance.
WHO MADE THE DECISION?
Jill Biden was there when her husband eventually made the historic call, giving into mounting pressure. But a spokeswoman for the First Lady said it was the president’s judgment alone, and confirmed he made it late.
‘Down to the last hours of the decision only he could make, she (Jill Biden) was supportive of whatever road he chose,’ the spokeswoman said. ‘She’s his biggest believer, champion, and always on his side, in that trusted way only a spouse of almost 50 years can be.’
The question now is what pushed Biden to finally make the extraordinary move that blindsided some of his White House staff and most of the people working on his re-election campaign.
BIDEN SUMMONED HIS CLOSE ALLIES
On Saturday evening, Biden summoned to his side two men who have been there since his political start: advisers Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon. They have been with him through the best of times – his first years as a senator – and the worst of times – the death of his son Beau Biden in 2015.
Already with the president and the first lady were their closest aides Annie Tomasini and Anthony Bernal, who they refer to as ‘family.’
It was Ricchetti and Donilon who brought with them devastating new data which would help to make up Biden’s mind.
THERE’S NO WAY HE COULD BEAT TRUMP
They revealed the latest internal campaign polling, taken since the debate, which showed he could no longer beat Trump.
Biden’s decision was made soon after, and he asked Ricchetti and Donilon to start drafting a letter, and to begin the process of how to make a public announcement. The president also began telling his family.
Biden had previously insisted that he would only step aside if he was shown polling that proved Kamala Harris would fare better than him against Trump, or if he developed a ‘medical condition’. In the end, it was the first of those developments that sealed his fate.
THEN HE MADE THE DECISION
Biden went to bed on Saturday night at the beach house, knowing he would announce his bombshell the next day.
At 1:45 pm on Sunday he began calling his senior staff at the White House and the campaign.
By that time he had already told Harris and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
At 1:46 pm, his campaign account posted a letter from the president announcing his decision even as he was still on the staff call.
PEOPLE ARE SHOCKED
Most of his staff – both in the White House and at the campaign – were shocked. They learned the news online, getting the alert when the @JoeBiden account posted the president’s missive.
‘No one had a heads up before the tweet posted,’ a campaign staffer said. ‘Which, to me, is an insane way to treat the 1300 people that work for you on the campaign.’
