Joe Biden Endorses Kamala Harris As Democratic Presidential Nominee Moments After He Drops Out Of 2024 Race
President Joe Biden has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to serve as the new Democratic presidential nominee.
“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” he wrote on X/Twitter, shortly after he announced he was withdrawing from the race.
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“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
The president also directed donors to an ActBlue link to donate to her campaign.
Biden’s endorsement is a call for unity after weeks of discord in the party, but it’s unclear just what kind of process the Democratic National Committee will lay out to choose the next party standard bearer.
Jamie Harrison, the chairman of the DNC, said in a statement that “in the coming days, the party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November. This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the party. Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people.”
Some Hollywood donors already had been starting to rally around Harris in the expectation that she would eventually be the nominee.
“The money would start flowing again like water if Kamala was the candidate,” one Hollywood supporter told Deadline last week. Others said that there may be some wait and see, but “everyone would get on board once we have a new candidate.”
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Harris has significant ties to the industry from her time as California attorney general and in the U.S. Senate. Her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, is a former Los Angeles entertainment attorney.
Soon after Biden’s endorsement came another question: Who would be her running mate? Names like Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer were quickly floated. So was California Governor Gavin Newsom, although there could be a constitutional issue of a presidential and vice presidential nominee residing in the same state.
There have been misgivings about Harris among some Hollywood donors, but also skepticism that, given the party discord, another major figure would step forward to challenge her. Newsom and Whitmer had already indicated that they would not do so.
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