U.S. Presidential Elections 2024 updates: Joe Biden withdraws from presidential race, endorses Kamala Harris

The Kremlin on Monday was cautious about the possibility of Kamala Harris’s U.S. presidential candidacy, saying that the vice president had made no discernable contribution to relations with Moscow beyond some unfriendly rhetoric.

Asked if Russia was surprised by Biden’s move, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that events in the United States over recent years had taught Moscow not to be surprised by anything and that in any case Russia had different priorities.

“In recent years, what has been happening in the United States has taught us not to be surprised by anything,” Peskov told reporters on a conference call.

“We were not very surprised.”

- Reuters

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz sees United States Vice President Kamala Harris as an “experienced and competent politician,” a government spokesperson said on Monday after Harris launched her presidential campaign with the backing of President Joe Biden.

Several spokespeople declined to comment on whether the German government was working on the assumption that Harris would be the Democratic presidential nominee, and said that it was preparing for all eventualities, including another presidency for Donald Trump.

The government spokesperson said Scholz had met with Harris on several occasions, including alongside Biden, and that there was “a certain closeness and familiarity” between them.

- Reuters

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has raised $49.6 million for her presidential campaign in less than a day after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her as the Democratic nominee, a campaign spokesperson for Biden said on Monday.

“Since the president endorsed Vice President Harris yesterday afternoon, everyday Americans have given $49.6 million in grassroots donations to her campaign,” the spokesperson said, referring to ordinary citizens.

- Reuters

Asian markets fell as Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the US presidential race fuelled fresh uncertainty, while traders appeared unmoved by China’s decision to cut interest rates in a bid to boost its stuttering economy.

The news has left traders wondering who will go head to head with Trump, whose expected victory had lifted equities and the dollar on expectations of tax cuts and deregulation.

Analysts said markets would likely be volatile in the near term.

“While market instinct will be to say that the news adds a degree of uncertainty to the outcome of the 5 November election that wasn’t present last week, it will be many weeks... before anyone can reasonably determine if the race for the White House is significantly narrower than looked to be case previously,” said National Australia Bank’s Ray Attrill.

- AFP

Describing US President Joe Biden as a “great man” who loved his country, world leaders on Monday thanked him for his bold steps and global leadership during challenging times.

In a post on X, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he respects President Biden’s decision and looks forward to working together for the remainder of his term.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese in a post on X thanked Biden for his “leadership and ongoing service”.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanked Biden for being a “partner to Canadians - and a true friend”.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said, “I refrain from commenting directly on this issue because it involves domestic politics in the US but I recognise that President Biden’s decision is based on his desire to make the best possible political decision.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country is grateful to President Biden for his “unwavering support” for its fight for freedom, which, along with strong bipartisan support in the United States, has been and continues to be critical.

- PTI

Israel will be the United States’ strongest ally in the Middle East regardless of who is elected president in November, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday.

Netanyahu, speaking to reporters before flying to Washington, said that he would thank President Joe Biden - who ended his U.S. reelection bid on Sunday - for all he has done for Israel.

The leaders will also discuss issues like freeing hostages held in Gaza and defeating Hamas, he said. 

-Reuters

Several prominent Indian Americans on Sunday welcomed the prospect of Vice President Kamala Harris becoming the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee and described it as a historic moment for this small ethnic community.

“As an immigrant who came from India to America over four decades ago, it thrills me to see that an Indian-American is the presumptive nominee of one of the two political parties for United States president,” M R Rangaswami, an influential diaspora leader who lives in San Francisco, told PTI.

“The contribution of the Indian diaspora to American society, including politics and public service is increasing in a big way. This shows the maturation and integration of our community,” he said.

Over 150 Indian-origin leaders serving at senior levels in the Biden administration. On the Republican side, we saw two serious Indian-American contenders for the presidential nomination, Rangaswami said.

Vice President Harris’ ascension as the presumptive presidential Democratic nominee represents a significant opportunity for US-India relations, Ronak D Desai, a partner and leading India practitioner at Paul Hastings LLP and an expert on bilateral ties, told PTI.

-PTI

Hollywood was quick to react to the news that President Joe Biden was ending his bid for reelection and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.

Barbra Streisand, a Democratic supporter, wrote Sunday on X that “we should be grateful for his upholding of our democracy.” While many paid tribute to Biden’s presidency, others wondered about the future.

Cher wrote on X that she was “tortured” because she doesn’t believe the Democrats could win without Biden. She said it was time to think “way outside the box” and proposed a split ticket.

Clooney argued that the party should pick a new nominee, saying the process would be “messy” but “wake up” voters in the party’s favor.

Others who attended or participated in the starry fundraiser in Los Angeles included Julia Roberts, Streisand, Jimmy Kimmel, former President Barack Obama, Jack Black, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Kathryn Hahn and Jason Bateman.

After U.S. President Joe Biden abandoned his reelection bid, the Kremlin said that for Russia the most important thing was achieving its goals in the Ukraine war not U.S. politics where Moscow said much could change over coming months.

“The elections are still four months away, and that is a long period of time in which a lot can change,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the SHOT news outlet.

“We need to be patient and carefully monitor what happens. The priority for us is the special military operation,” Peskov said, using the euphemism for the Ukraine war that President Vladimir Putin prefers.

Putin had said several times said that he felt Biden was preferable as the future U.S. president to Trump for Russia, even after Biden cast the Kremlin chief as a “crazy SOB” though some of his remarks have been ambiguous.

-Reuters

Indian-American businessman-turned-politician Vivek Ramaswamy had predicted some eight months ago that incumbent President Joe Biden would not be the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.

“Best way to predict the future: just follow the incentives. It’s shocking how precisely right you can be, right down to the exact timing,” Ramaswamy, a 38-year-old Republican, said in a social media post along with the video interview with Fox News last November, soon after Biden announced his decision.

In his interview with Fox News, Ramaswamy had said: “I think that the reality is the managerial class around Biden has lost their use for him. This has been obvious to me since last year to play out the incentives. He is not the strongest candidate they can put up. And these people, they have stopped at nothing to keep Donald J Trump out of office,” he said.

-PTI

Thousands of Black women from across the US have held an online discussion on the path forward to support Vice President Kamala Harris after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race and endorsed her.

Her network of backers includes a number of key Black female Democratic allies who have been quietly organizing for weeks to ensure that she would be well positioned to lead the ticket if Biden stepped aside.

Those women held a Zoom call Sunday evening after Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the race.

Win With Black Women periodically holds Zoom calls, but this one had a different tone and tenor given Biden’s announcement and subsequent endorsement of Harris, CNN reported.

Longtime Democratic operative Donna Brazile said that she was in the process of gathering delegates to support Harris.

-PTI

“We join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden for all he has accomplished, standing up for America time and again, with his North Star always being what’s best for the country,” former President Bill Clinton said in a post on X. 

“We are honoured to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her,” he added.

For the past year, the presidential campaign seemed destined to be a monotonous slog featuring two candidates, President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump, that voters didn’t really want.

But that all changed on a quiet Sunday afternoon just 107 days before the election.

Biden’s decision to drop out of the race and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor resets the campaign with a swiftness that is unparalleled in modern American politics.

Once a contest between two elderly white men, the election will likely force Trump to contend with the much younger Harris, who was consolidating support among Democrats and would be the first woman of color atop a major party’s ticket.

“It shakes things up entirely,” said Dan Pfeiffer, a former adviser to President Barack Obama. “It turns everything on its head.” The crumbling of Biden’s reelection effort, which began with his shaky debate performance last month, has left both parties scrambling. Although no one has stepped forward to challenge Harris for the Democratic nomination, she still faces the unprecedented challenge of taking over a campaign only four weeks before the party gathers in Chicago for its convention.

-AP

Kamala Harris is the “new figurehead for the deep state” and would be “incredibly dangerous” as the commander-in-chief, Hindu-American former congressman Tulsi Gabbard has said.

Gabbard also asked countrymen to vote for Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.

“Biden’s out, Kamala is in. Don’t be fooled: policies won’t change. Just like Biden wasn’t the one calling the shots, Kamala Harris won’t be either,” the 43-year-old independent politician said in a video post.

“She is the new figurehead for the deep state and the maidservant of Hillary Clinton, queen of the cabal of warmongers. They will continue their efforts to engulf the world in war and take away our liberty,” Gabbard said in a video post soon after Biden endorsed Harris as the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate.

US Vice President Kamala Harris, endorsed by Joe Biden to be a new Democratic presidential nominee, has said that she intends to “earn and win” the nomination of the party and “do everything in my power” to unite the nation to defeat her Republican rival Donald Trump in November.

Harris, who received Biden’s support to become the next Democratic presidential nominee after he quit the race for the White House, is poised to become the first Black woman and first Asian American to lead the ticket of a major American political party.

Harris, 59, said she was “honoured” to receive Biden’s endorsement and intends to “earn and win” the nomination of the Democratic Party.

“I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said in a statement.

-PTI

All five Indian-American lawmakers have hailed President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race and three of them threw their weight behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party’s likely presidential nominee.

There are five Indian-American lawmakers in the current House of Representatives — Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ro Khanna, Shri Thanedar, Pramila Jayapal and Ami Bera. They all are Democrats.

Three of them – Khanna, Thanedar and Jayapal -- have endorsed Harris, 59, so far. Harris is the first-ever Indian American to be elected as the vice president of the country.

-PTI

Republicans led by their vice presidential nominee Senator J D Vance have asked President Joe Biden to resign from his post after he decided not to seek re-election in November, saying his move to withdraw from the race is a clear admission that he is not “mentally fit enough” to serve as the commander-in-chief.

“If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining President? Not running for reelection would be a clear admission that President Trump was right all along about Biden not being mentally fit enough to serve as commander-in-chief. There is no middle ground,” Vance said.

Last week, the 39-year-old Ohio Senator was picked as a running mate by Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

“Joe Biden has been the worst President in my lifetime and Kamala Harris has been right there with him every step of the way,” he said.

Over the last four years, she co-signed Biden’s open border and green scam policies that drove up the cost of housing and groceries, Vance alleged.

-PTI

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump hit out at incumbent U.S. President Joe Biden for ending his re-election bid and claimed that “everybody around Biden, including his doctors, knew that he was not capable of running for or being President”.

Trump also doubted that Mr. Biden was suffering from COVID-19.

In a post on social media platform “Truth Social”, Trump said, “So we are forced to spend time and money on fighting Crooked Joe Biden, he polls badly after having a terrible debate, and quits the race. Now we have to start all over again.”

“Shouldn’t the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud in that everybody around Joe, including his doctors and the fake news media, knew he was not capable of running for, or being, President? Just askin’?” he said.

“Crooked Joe just got knocked out, so now I’ll have to do it a FOURTH TIME!!!” the former U.S. President said.

Indian-American Democrat Ashwin Ramaswami, the first Indian-American from Gen Z to run for a state or federal legislature in the US, has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential nominee, saying it “would be a major step forward for Indian-American and AAPI representation in this country”.

The remarks by Ramaswami, a candidate for Georgia State Senate in District 48, came after Biden on Sunday abruptly ended his re-election bid amid widespread concerns about the viability of his candidacy and endorsed Harris, who is of both Indian and African origin, as the Democratic Party’s new nominee.

“Vice President Harris would make history as the first Indian American President of the United States,” said Ramaswami whose parents immigrated to the US from Tamil Nadu in 1990. Generation Z (also known as Zoomers) encompasses those born between 1997 and 2012.

- PTI

Praising U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris for her work, Indian-American Congressman Shri Thanedar said that she is a tough lady and has done an outstanding job as senator, adding that he thinks Harris will be a great President.

Speaking to ANI, Thanedar said that he looks forward to working with Kamala Harris as the next President of the US. He said Harris cares deeply about democratic issues like protecting a woman’s rights or protecting workers’ rights and creating economic opportunities.

Asked about his reaction on Biden passing the torch to Harris, Shri Thanedar said, “I think Kamala Harris would be a great president. She is a tough lady. She has been a prosecutor. As a senator, she has done an outstanding job. And I look forward to working with Kamala Harris as the next president of the United States.”

-ANI

Known as the “female Obama”, first time Senator Kamala Devi Harris scripted history by becoming first woman, Black and Indian-American vice president of the United States in 2020.

Ms. Harris was picked by Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden as his running mate. A fierce critic-turned ally of her former rival Biden, the 56-year-old California Senator is one of only three Asian Americans in the Senate and she’s the first Indian-American ever to serve in the chamber.

Ms. Harris is known for many firsts. She has been a county district attorney; the district attorney for San Francisco — the first woman and first African-American and Indian-origin to be elected to the position. 

Vice President Kamala Harris is “just as much of a joke as President Joe Biden is”, alleged the Donald Trump Campaign on Sunday, immediately after Biden ended his re-election bid and endorsed his deputy as the Democratic Party nominee for the general elections in November.

In a statement, it claimed that Biden cannot take himself out of a campaign for President because “he is too mentally incompetent” and yet remains in the White House.

In a statement, the Trump campaign said, “Kamala Harris is just as much of a joke as Biden is. Harris will be even worse for the people of our nation than Joe Biden. Harris has been the Enabler-in-Chief for Crooked Joe this entire time.” “They own each other’s records, and there is no distance between the two. Harris must defend the failed Biden Administration and her liberal, weak-on-crime record in CA,” it said.

In a joint statement on behalf of the Trump Campaign, Chris LaCivita and Susie Wilesoe alleged that Biden is a “national security threat in great cognitive decline and a clear and present danger to every man, woman and child in our country”.

“The question then to Kamala Harris is simple: knowing that Joe Biden withdrew from the campaign because of his rapidly deteriorating condition, does Harris believe the people of America are safe and secure with Joe Biden in the White House for six more months?” it posed.

-PTI

The Democratic Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward with the nomination of the new presidential candidate for the November general elections, its National Committee chair Jaime Harrison said after incumbent President Joe Biden ended his re-election campaign.

The Democratic National Committee convention is scheduled to start in Chicago on August 19, wherein nearly 4,000 delegates from across the country will gather to elect their candidate for the November general elections.

Mr. Biden had overwhelmingly won the party’s primary and has more than 3,800 delegates in his kitty. While Mr. Biden’s endorsement has made the task of Ms. Harris to gain party nomination a bit easier, it is not sealed till the time the delegates vote in her support.

- PTI

Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the ruling Democratic Party’s presidential nominee, thus being the first among the five Indian American lawmakers to do so.

In a post on social media, Ms. Jayapal threw her full support to Ms. Harris, saying, “Kamala Harris for President. Let’s beat Donald Trump and make history.” The two also spoke over the phone as well on a day of fast-moving political developments.

“Vice President Kamala Harris just called me and I told her I am 1000% in for her to be our President! She has the smarts, the experience, the accomplishments and the agenda to lead us to victory in November. Let’s go!” Ms. Jayapal said.

- PTI

The Kremlin said it was monitoring developments following Joe Biden’s decision to not stand for a second term.

“The election is still four months away. And it’s a long time, during which a lot can change. We need to pay attention, follow what will happen and go about our business,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the Life.ru news outlet.

-AFP

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris’s campaign officials and allies made hundreds of phone calls on Sunday, locking in delegates’ support for her presidential nomination ahead of the Democratic National Convention in August while seeking to block any would-be challengers, multiple sources said.

At the same time, Democratic state party chairs held a Sunday afternoon call to discuss backing Ms. Harris as the party’s nominee. Several participants said Ms. Harris has the chairs’ full support.

Ms. Harris’s outreach to delegates started almost immediately after President Joe Biden dropped his reelection bid on Sunday. Locking in their support and the backing of state chairs is essential to ensuring Ms. Harris replaces Mr. Biden on the Nov. 5 ballot as the party’s rival to Republican Donald Trump.

-Reuters

As of Saturday night, President Joe Biden planned to stay in the 2024 presidential race, but then shocked his senior staff on Sunday afternoon by telling them that he was withdrawing, a source familiar with the matter said.

“Last night the message was proceed with everything, full speed ahead,” the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. “At around 1:45 p.m. today: the president told his senior team that he had changed his mind.”

About minutes later, Mr. Biden made his bombshell announcement.

-Reuters

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday he respected U.S. President Joe Biden’s “tough but strong” decision to end his reelection campaign.

“Ukraine is grateful to President Biden for his unwavering support for Ukraine’s fight for freedom, which, along with strong bipartisan support in the United States, has been and continues to be critical,” Mr. Zelensky said in a post on social media platform X.

“Many strong decisions have been made in recent years and they will be remembered as bold steps taken by President Biden in response to challenging times. And we respect today’s tough but strong decision.” 

-Reuters

Many Democrats quickly backed Vice President Kamala Harris to run as the party’s presidential nominee against Donald Trump after incumbent President Joe Biden’s abrupt departure from the race, but some powerful party members, including former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, stayed quiet.

After weeks of in-party fighting between Democrats on whether Mr. Biden, 81, should stay in the race, a rush of support coalescing behind Ms. Harris is crucial just over 100 days before November’s election.

There are plenty of doubts inside the Democratic Party about whether Harris can beat Trump in November.

-Reuters

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet with President Joe Biden at the White House this week as planned, despite Mr. Biden’s withdrawal from the presidential race, a person familiar with Mr. Biden’s schedule said Sunday.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to comment publicly, said the exact timing of the meeting has not been established because Mr. Biden is recovering from COVID-19.

-AP

“With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else,” Kamala Harris said in a statement.

“I am honored to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.... “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party -- and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump.”

-AFP

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he respects U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to drop his reelection bid.

“I respect President Biden’s decision and I look forward to us working together during the remainder of his presidency,” he said in a statement.

“I know that, as he has done throughout his remarkable career, President Biden will have made his decision based on what he believes is in the best interests of the American people.”

-Reuters

Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden | The journey to Washington

The former VP wins Democratic nomination at a crucial time for the U.S.

Champ, the measure of a man is not how often he is knocked down, but how quickly he gets up. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for the White House , would repeat these words of his father, perhaps suitable for his own life of tragedies and triumphs. There will be more in store for Mr. Biden, as he and the incumbent, U.S. President, Donald Trump, battle it out at the polls this November.

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Joe Biden must resign as president “immediately,” the top Republican in Congress says, after the U.S. president announced he was abandoning his bid to retake the White House amid intense pressure over his age. 

“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough,” AFP quotes House Speaker Mike Johnson as saying in a statement.

A few hours ago, Donald Trump’s running mate J. D. Vance had posted on X on the similar lines, saying, “If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining President? Not running for reelection would be a clear admission that President Trump was right all along about Biden not being mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief. There is no middle ground.”

U.S. President Joe Biden announced that he was withdrawing from the presidential race against challenger Donald Trump, following a dismal debate performance and flagging polling numbers.

The stepping down of the Democratic party’s flag bearer at the last minute is unprecedented in modern U.S. electoral history, and a high-risk move.

Here’s a look at how replacing the 81-year-old could work:

• Chaotic convention: To designate a formal nominee, delegates from all 50 states attend their party’s summer nominating convention to officially anoint a candidate based on primary voting. Biden overwhelmingly won the primary votes, and the party’s roughly 3,900 delegates heading to the convention in Chicago this August are beholden to him.With Biden exiting, the delegates have to find a replacement. That brings US politics back to the old days, when party bosses jostled to pick a nominee through deal-making in smoke-filled back rooms and endless rounds of voting.

• Third-party chances?: With Biden dropping out, could a strong third-party hopeful emerge? So far, no independent candidate is posing any danger to the United States’s dominant two-party system.

- AFP

Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the race for the White House leaves a gap atop the Democratic presidential ticket that the party is now rushing to fill.

Here is a look at potential replacements:

• Kamala Harris - She seems like the obvious choice, and Biden has given her his endorsement.
• Gavin Newsom - The 56-year-old Democrat, a former mayor of San Francisco, has been at the helm of the Golden State — the most populous in the United States — for five years, and has made it a haven for abortion access.
• Gretchen Whitmer - Another possible Democratic candidate is Gretchen Whitmer, the 52-year-old governor of Michigan.
• Josh Shapiro - Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro leads the biggest swing State in November’s race.
• Other names circulating include Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, Maryland Governor Wes Moore and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, but their chances so far seem limited at best.

- AFP

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told CNN that he thinks Vice-President Kamala Harris will be easier to defeat in the November election than President Joe Biden who stepped aside as his party’s candidate.

A CNN reporter said on X that Mr. Trump made the comments to the network shortly after Mr. Biden announced his decision.

- Reuters

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