Biden pulls out of presidential race after analyzing poll data and party support

US President Joe Biden has decided to exit the presidential race, a decision reached in the last 48 hours as he consulted with family and top advisers while recovering from Covid-19.

A senior campaign adviser revealed that plans to leave the race began on July 20 night and were finalized by July 21, Caliber.Az reports citing the foreign media.

The adviser stated that Biden “was not dug in” but was analyzing incoming data and became convinced he would “weigh down” the ticket, complicating efforts to defeat former President Donald Trump. A senior White House official emphasised that Biden’s decision was not influenced by any medical issues.

During a July 20 meeting with his closest advisers, the data on polling and feedback from top Democratic officials highlighted that a path to victory was “basically nonexistent”. The declining national and swing-state poll numbers, along with anticipated party defections, contributed to Biden’s decision. This information included details gathered from outreach beyond Biden’s inner circle.

Unlike 2015, when Biden was advised against a presidential bid following the death of his son Beau, neither of his longtime aides, Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti, explicitly told him to withdraw from the race this time. Instead, the data presented underscored the severe damage to his campaign’s viability.

By the end of the meeting, Biden had decided to pull out of the race and asked his aides to draft the announcement letter, which he posted on July 21 afternoon. While recovering from Covid-19, Biden remained at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with First Lady Jill Biden.

Biden confirmed his decision on July 21 morning and, with Ricchetti by his side, began making calls to key figures outside his close-knit group of senior aides and family members. Only a small number of close aides were consulted on the decision, with many left in the dark until minutes before the announcement was posted on social media. One of Biden’s closest communications advisers, Anita Dunn, and a small group of senior aides became aware of the announcement just minutes before it went public.

Dunn and her husband, Bob Bauer, were part of Biden’s debate prep team and had faced criticism from the president’s family after a debate performance. However, a Biden aide disputed that her exclusion from the decision-making process was related to the debate, explaining that she and other top aides were not in Rehoboth Beach. The aide added that “the president told his aides that neither he nor his family blame them for the debate performance.”

Biden’s withdrawal marks a significant shift in the presidential race, leaving the Democratic Party to recalibrate its strategy in the face of a changing political landscape.