Drop-out: Biden’s seismic decision from one year ago still has unanswered questions

Former President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 election on July 21, 2024, sending shockwaves through a race already upended by the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Vice President Kamala Harris stepped in, only to be beaten by Trump. As Democrats try to recover, Biden, suffering from cancer, aims to protect what remains of his legacy. This Washington Examiner series, “Drop-out,” will look at what happened on that day, the aftermath for Biden, and how Harris’s future is up in the air. Part 1 looks at unanswered questions from drop-out day.

Former President Joe Biden’s decision to end his reelection bid with just 107 days left in the 2024 race will go down as one of the most consequential moments in modern political history. 

But some details about what led up to it, as well as what immediately followed, remain unclear.

Discussions about whether the oldest president in United States history would seek a second term took place mostly behind closed doors between Biden and a small, insular circle of advisers in 2023. So too did conversations about whether, a year later, he should abandon that effort.