President Biden withdraws from race, passes hot mess to VP Harris

US President Joe Biden has ended his bid for re-election, opening the way for another Democratic candidate to take on Republican Donald Trump in November’s election.

Mr Biden said it was in the “best interest” of the Democratic Party and the country for him to drop out of ​the race. He endorsed* Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on the ballot*.

“While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Mr Biden said in a written statement.

“It has been the greatest honour* of my life to serve as your President.”

The 81-year-old’s decision to withdraw* comes after, and largely because of, his halting* performance in a televised debate against Mr Trump on June 27, which reinforced* existing concerns about his age and mental acuity*, and sparked a sense of “panic” inside the Democratic Party.

Since that debate, the President has fallen further in head-to-head polls against Mr Trump, which already showed him trailing* in every key swing state*.

Media figures, Democratic operatives* and an ever-increasing number of elected politicians, including the party’s senior most leaders, called for his exit from the campaign in recent weeks, believing Mr Biden incapable* of winning the general election on November 5.

Mr Biden will remain President until the end of his term next January. By the end of a second term, he would have been 86.

In endorsing Ms Harris, he said: “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.”

Ms Harris said she was honoured to have the President’s endorsement.

“It is a profound* honour to serve as his Vice President, and I am deeply grateful to the President, Jill Biden, and the whole Biden family.

“We have 107 days until election day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”

Former president Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary (who ran against Mr Trump in the 2016 Presidential election) backed Biden’s support of Ms Harris.

“We are honoured to join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her,” the Clintons said in a statement posted on X.

“Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we’ve got to elect her.”

Ms Harris is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in US history, as well as the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president. A lawyer, she became a member of the Democratic Party* and was previously a US senator* from California from 2017 to 2021 and the Attorney-General* of California from 2011 to 2017.

GLOSSARY

• ballot: a process of voting, in writing and typically in secret
• endorsed: declared public support or approval of someone
• honour: high respect or esteem; a privilege
• halting: slow, hesitant, or faltering
• mental acuity: the sharpness or clarity of one’s mind and cognitive abilities
• reinforced: strengthened or supported, especially with additional material
• trailing: being behind in a competition or election
• operatives: people who work for a political party or organisation, often in a secretive or strategic capacity
• incapable: unable to do something
• withdraw: to pull out or remove from a position or situation
• swing state: a US state where the Democratic and Republican candidates both have a good chance of winning
• senator: a member of the Senate, the upper house of the US Congress, who is elected to represent a state for a six-year term
• nominee: a person who is proposed or formally entered as a candidate for an office or as the recipient of a grant or award
• Democratic Party: one of the two major political parties in the United States
• Attorney-General: the chief legal officer of a state or country, responsible for representing the government in legal matters
• profound: very great or intense

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QUICK QUIZ

1. Why did US President Joe Biden decide to end his bid for re-election?
2. Who did President Biden endorse to replace him on the ballot?
3. What were the main concerns about President Biden that led to his decision to withdraw from the race?
4. How did former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton respond to Biden’s endorsement of Kamala Harris?
5. What are some of Kamala Harris’s significant achievements and positions in her political career?

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CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES
1. Age is no barrier
President Biden has faced a huge amount of pressure to step down from the presidential race, even by members of his own party. President Biden said age was no barrier for being president, but now that he’s stepped down, maybe it is?

He is currently 81, and would be 86 by the end of his next presidential term.

What factors might negatively affect his ability to be re-elected and to serve as president at this age?

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What are some of the positives of a more senior president?

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Time: allow 15 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and social, Critical and creative thinking

2. Extension
“Ms Harris is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in US history, as well as the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president.”

Will the fact that Ms Harris is female and of African-American and Asian-America descent be a factor in being elected president of the USA.

Should it be a factor? Do you agree or disagree? State your reasons.

Time: allow 20 minutes to complete this activity
Curriculum Links: English, Personal and social, Critical and creative thinking

VCOP ACTIVITY
Imaginative dialogue
Imagine you were there during the event being discussed in the article.

Create a conversation between two characters from the article – you may need or want to include yourself as one of the characters. Don’t forget to try to use facts and details from the article to help make your dialogue as realistic as possible.

Go through your writing and highlight any punctuation you have used in green. Make sure you carefully check the punctuation used for the dialogue and ensure you have opened and closed the speaking in the correct places.