00:00We interrupt our program and we have breaking news.
00:07U.S. President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the race for the U.S. presidency, an extraordinary
00:12decision that plunges the Democratic nomination into uncertainty just months before the November
00:17election against Donald Trump.
00:20The president made the shocking announcement after a week's long pressure campaign by Democratic
00:24leaders, organizers, and donors, who increasingly saw no path to victory so long as the embattled
00:34incumbent remained on the ticket.
00:37A disastrous debate performance last month and his uneven public appearances since have
00:42only exacerbated longstanding border concerns that the 81-year-old president was simply
00:49too old to serve another four years.
00:52Biden's decision to step aside from the race, though remain as president, caps a singular
00:58few weeks in U.S. politics, the latest stunning episode in an unusually tumultuous election
01:04season.
01:05Former president and Republican nominee Trump narrowly survived an attempt on his life during
01:11a campaign rally in Pennsylvania that blotted his ear and left one spectator dead.
01:19Biden, after appealing for calm in the wake of the attack, has returned to the campaign
01:23trial last week determined to salvage his candidacy and once again prove his doubters
01:29wrong.
01:30In media appearances, the president was defiant, insisting that he would remain the party's
01:35standard-bearer in November, barring an intervention from the Lord Almighty being struck by a train
01:42or medical condition.
01:43On Wednesday, as Biden was said to deliver remarks at a conference in Nevada, he tested
01:49positive for COVID.
01:50The president's withdrawal pushes the Democratic Party into largely uncharted waters, with
01:56its national convention scheduled to begin on August 19 in Chicago.
02:02The nominee will also have a tight window to choose a running mate to take on Trump
02:07and his vice presidential pick, the Ohio Senator James David Vance.
02:13The 95% of delegates who pledged to support Biden following his big win since the Democratic
02:20primaries are now able to vote for a different candidate.
02:24Roughly 4,000 Democratic delegates will convene in August to choose a new nominee, and right
02:31now Kamala Harris will arrive in Chicago as an early favorite in the race to replace Biden.
02:37After serving as Biden's vice president, Harris, 59 years old, has the largest national
02:42profile of any Democratic candidate, and delegates may view her as the safest option, with just
02:50four months to spare before Election Day.
02:54Campaign finance experts will say that Harris would have the most straightforward legal
02:59argument to keep the Biden campaign's fundraising whole, while another nominee may have to forfeit
03:06the money.
03:07As of the end of May, the Biden campaign had $91.6 million in cash on hand.
03:22That's the latest right now.
03:23We are going to continue providing updates in upcoming news briefs, so stay tuned for
03:27that.
03:28That is the news.
03:29U.S. President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race just months before the
03:34elections on November.
03:36Stay tuned with Treasurer English for more updates in upcoming news briefs.
Comments