President Joe Biden stunned American politics on Sunday when he announced his withdrawal from the presidential race and waited 23 minutes before he threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris to become his replacement nominee.
Support for Harris to become the heir apparent presidential nominee grew as quickly as calls had for Biden to step aside, and her new backers included those who had strongly defended Biden's ability to stay in the race. And while she wasn't instantly a presumptive nominee, Harris in very short order became the frontrunner.
The president’s initial announcement, made on X, amounted to a reversal of defiance against a growing chorus of donors, lawmakers and other Democratic officials who said they didn’t believe Biden had the cognitive or physical stamina to defeat Donald Trump and serve four more years in the White House.
