Joe Biden drops out, endorses Kamala Harris; Josh Shapiro a possible VP pick; Trump wants debate change

President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign Sunday and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him, upending the election less than four months before Americans cast their ballots and marking a stunning coda for the Scranton native whose career in politics spanned five decades.

Biden, 81, said in a letter released Sunday afternoon that he was ending his campaign but will serve until the end of his term in January.

“I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” he said.

Sen. John Fetterman and Sen. Bob Casey, both Pennsylvania Democrats, took starkly different tones when reacting to President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the ballot.

Fetterman has fiercely defended Biden’s position on the ticket and compared the president’s debate performance to his own bad debate during his 2022 campaign. He didn't budge from that position on Sunday.

“People pushed out an honorable man, loving father and a great president before an absolute sleazeball like Menendez,” Fetterman said on Sunday in reference to Sen. Bob Menendez, the embattled New Jersey senator who was convicted in a corruption trial last week, according to Semafor reporter David Weigel. “Congratulations,” Fetterman added.

Kevin Greenberg, an election lawyer who is a DNC delegate for the 3rd Congressional District in Philadelphia, said he is “not at all” concerned about legal challenges.

He said “Pennsylvania law is crystal clear” that the nominee picked at conventions becomes the nominee for the ballot, and that all states have a similar law. He compared the process to J.D. Vance becoming the vice president nominee at the Republican National Convention without being on a primary ballot.

Legal challenges could still happen, and some conservatives have already threatened them, but Greenberg just doesn’t think they’d have an impact.

Pennsylvania’s state party chairman, Sharif Street, said Sunday that a state party vote to formally endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the presidential nominee could come within a day or two.

“As soon as we logistically can,” Street said at a press conference Sunday night. “I imagine in the next day or two.”

Delegates will cast their votes individually, as per the rules of the Democratic National Committee, Street said.

All 77 DNC delegates in Tennessee have pledged to support Kamala Harris, the Tennessee Democratic Party announced on social media.

Ultimately, the nominee will be officially selected at the Democratic National Convention, which is scheduled to begin on Aug. 19 in Chicago. There, 4,700 Democratic delegates will vote to select the party's nominee.

If no candidate wins a majority of those votes, more than 700 "superdelegates" — governors, elected officials and other top party members — will join them in subsequent votes until someone security a simple majority, according to DNC rules.

» READ MORE: Biden dropped out of the race. How will Democrats pick a nominee?

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro ended speculation that he could contend for the Democratic presidential nomination Sunday, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in a statement.

Shapiro, whose name is also being circulated as a potential vice presidential contender, said he spoke to both Harris and President Joe Biden Sunday afternoon after the president withdrew from the presidential race just four months before Election Day.

He said he has known Harris for two decades, and that she “is ready to be president.”

Following Joe Biden’s decision to drop out, former President Donald Trump is calling for a change to the next presidential debate, which had been scheduled to take place on Sept, 10.

ABC is currently scheduled to host the debate, but Trump wrote on Truth Social he wants to move it to Fox News.If Trump doesn’t back out of the debate, he is slated to face the eventual Democratic presidential nominee. Vice President Kamala Harris has been endorsed by Biden and received the backing of some, but not all, of top Democrats.

The Trump campaign has not agreed to a date for a vice presidential debate between JD Vance and the eventual Democratic running mate.

President Joe Biden’s campaign wasted no time passing his war chest to Vice President Kamala Harris.

His campaign committee changed its name to Harris for President shortly before 5 p.m. on Sunday, and shortly after 5 p.m., Biden sent out a campaign email urging his supporters to donate to Harris’ campaign for president.

“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” read the email signed by Biden. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”

Philadelphia-area Democratic delegates Sunday had mixed responses to President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would not seek reelection, as some praised the president and his decision, while others rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris for their party’s nominee.

Elaine Petrossian, an 8th Ward Leader and DNC delegate for the 3rd Congressional District in Philly, said she had “very mixed emotions” on Sunday. She said she only sees a ticket with Vice President Kamala Harris at the top as viable, and hopes President Joe Biden will work as an adviser for her presidency, should she win.

“I take at face value that this was his voluntary decision, and my heart breaks for him and his family,” she said. ” … the way he’s been treated these last number of weeks was unfair. But I wish him all the peace and support and gratitude that I can hold.”

Outside the Biden-Harris campaign office in Roxborough - where the President just visited two weeks ago - the front door was locked.

Dale Pearlstein, who lives nearby, knocked and asked what she could do to volunteer. She said after hearing the news that President Joe Biden was ending his bid for reelection, she wanted to work for a Kamala Harris presidency.

A staffer who came to the door directed her to the campaign website.

U.S. Rep. Dan Meuser, a Republican who represents parts of central Pennsylvania and is a top Trump ally in the state, slammed Biden’s decision as “undemocratic” in a statement Sunday.

Meuser said the Democratic party’s path forward amounts to “working behind closed doors with no input from the voters” and he accused party leads of deceiving Americans about the president’s physical and mental fitness.

“Now the Democrat machine and leftwing media has forced him out, circumventing the will of their voters,” Meuser said. “This begs the question about the transparency and accountability within the Biden White House, his cabinet, senior Democratic leaders, and Vice President Kamala Harris. We must question if the administration’s goal of self-preservation outweighed their obligation and sworn oath to uphold the Constitution and protect the American people.”

Some Philadelphia-area delegates are looking towards Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro as a potential running mate for Harris.

State Rep. Danilo Burgos, who is a delegate to the DNC, said he hoped the party would quickly coalesce around Harris.

After that, he said he “definitely” wanted to see Shapiro as her VP pick.

In addition to his planned address to the country, President Joe Biden still intends to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House this week, according to a person familiar with the president’s schedule who was not authorized to comment publicly.

The exact timing of the meeting is still not set in stone as Biden continues to recover from COVID-19. Netanyahu is scheduled on Wednesday to deliver an address to Congress and he is also expected to meet with Vice President Kamala Harris while in Washington.

It remains unclear when Biden will address the nation. In a statement he posted on social media Sunday, Biden said he plans to speak "later this week."

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro is among the top names being floated as potential vice presidential candidates to run alongside Vice President Kamala Harris, now that President Joe Biden has dropped out of the race.

Shapiro, 51, is a first-term Democratic governor of the nation’s only divided legislature and the top statewide official in a critical battleground that has become key to Democratic victory in November. The former state attorney general and Abington native is a polished communicator who has built up a political brand of bipartisanship and earned praise from within his own party as well as from some Republicans.

Speculation surrounding Shapiro started weeks ago as buzz surrounding who might replace Biden grew. Shapiro was included in polls as an option for the top of the ticket, and more recently, as a running mate alongside Harris.

Vice President Kamala Harris intends to "earn and win" the presidential nomination for the Democratic party, she wrote in a statement. Harris added that she is "honored" to have received Biden's endorsement and touted her travels across the country within the past year to discuss the upcoming election with voters.

"And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party —and unite our nation— to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda," Harris wrote. "We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win."

Harris also thanked the president for his leadership, long-lasting legacy in public service, and love for U.S. Harris first met Biden while Harris and Biden's son, Beau, served together as Attorneys General of California and Delaware, respectively.

Philadelphia Democratic Party chairman Bob Brady wants Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro to be the new vice presidential candidate to run alongside Vice President Kamala Harris.

Brady said Shapiro is on the short list for possible vice presidential candidates, and he would help secure Democrats win Pennsylvania, a critical battleground state.

“I will talk to anybody I can that has the [decision-making power], I am telling them without question [Shapiro] would make them proud,” Brady said. “He would do a great job, he would lock in Pennsylvania. He’s a great speaker, and he would be a great addition to the ticket.”

Former President Barack Obama acknowledged that Biden's track record on addressing the economy, health care costs, climate change, gun violence and international relations gave Biden "every right to run for re-election and finish the job he started," but noted the high stakes of the current political moment that made Biden's decision necessary, he wrote of his former vice president in a statement on Medium.

"Joe understands better than anyone the stakes in this election — how everything he has fought for throughout his life, and everything that the Democratic Party stands for, will be at risk if we allow Donald Trump back in the White House and give Republicans control of Congress," he added.

Obama wrote that Biden's decision to "pass the torch" to a new nominee is surely a difficult choice, but he said it speaks to the president's ability to act in accordance with America's best interest at heart.

As recently as Sunday afternoon, campaign staffers for President Joe Biden were calling around to delegates in Pennsylvania to shore up support for the president.

A leadership call with staffers around noon also gave no indication that Biden’s decision to drop out was imminent, coming less than two hours later.

And some Philadelphia campaign staffers, who asked that their names not be used because they were not authorized in their roles to speak to the press, told The Inquirer that they found out that Biden had dropped out on X, where he had posted the letter, the same way many Americans learned the news.

State Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta, a Democrat who represents North Philadelphia and a close Biden ally who chairs a presidential advisory commission, said he was “heartbroken” over Biden’s decision to withdraw.

In an at-times tearful interview Sunday afternoon, Kenyatta – who has campaigned with Biden across the country and developed close relationships with the president and members of his family – said he respects the president’s decision and will support Vice President Kamala Harris.

He said his sadness over the choice stemmed from Biden being fundamentally decent – he said they once had an extended conversation about personal loss and tragedy.

DNC Chair Jaime Harrison said that the Democratic party will endure "a transparent and orderly process to move forward" with nominating a candidate who can defeat former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump, he wrote in a statement.

The process will be guided by a set of rules and procedures that have been established by the Democratic party, he wrote.

"Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people," Harrison wrote.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said he is thankful for President Joe Biden’s leadership, following the announcement that Biden would leave the presidential race, calling him “one of the most consequential presidents in modern history.”

“President Biden has gotten an incredible amount done to move our country forward, defend our democracy, and protect real freedom,” Shapiro added.

Shapiro is being vetted by an outside group of Biden fundraisers as a potential vice presidential pick to run with Kamala Harris, the Washington Post reported on Saturday.

U.S. Rep. Brendan Boyle, a Democrat who represents a large swath of Philadelphia and a Biden ally, said in a statement that Biden is “a patriot.”

“He selflessly put personal ambition aside to do what he thinks is best for our country,” Boyle said. “Today and every day, both in dark passages and bright days, I am always proud to be one of Joe Biden’s biggest supporters.”

U.S. Rep. Andy Kim, a Democrat who represents parts of South Jersey and is the party’s nominee for U.S. Senate, backed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the presidential pick after President Joe Biden left the race Sunday.

Former President Donald Trump said President Joe Biden “was not fit” to either run for president or serve in the office.

In a post on Truth Social, Trump blasted Biden’s doctor and the media, claiming they “knew that he wasn’t capable of being President.” Trump made no mention of his likely 2024 opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, who received Biden’s endorsement Sunday.

Trump has gone after Harris in recent weeks, as pressure grew for Biden to drop out of the race. In an interview on the Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show last week, Trump said Harris may be an easier opponent “in many ways,” He also mocked her in a rally Saturday in Michigan, calling her “crazy” and “nuts.”

Republicans are already exploring legal challenges to whoever Democrats put forth as their new presidential nominee.

In a Sunday interview with CNN, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R., La.) predicted his party could pursue litigation to contest replacing Biden – the winner of the Democratic primary election – with another candidate on general election ballots in several states.

“Every state has its own system, and in some of these, it’s not possible to simply switch out a candidate,” Johnson said just hours before Biden announced his intention to drop out of the race Sunday.

A top Pennsylvania pollster said Biden’s decision to drop out of the race represents a “complete reset” four months before Election Day, but that Democrats can become more competitive in Pennsylvania if they can coalesce around a nominee quickly.

Berwood Yost, director of the Center for Opinion Research at Franklin and Marshall College, said polls in state showed Trump leading by several percentage points whereas, just four years ago, Biden was comfortably ahead.

And, Yost said, it was clear it wasn’t a problem for all Democrats: Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat running for reelection, has led Republican nominee Dave McCormick for months.

While Joe Biden has announced he is dropping out of the 2024 presidential race, he isn’t resigning as president.

In a statement Biden shared on social media Sunday, he said he will “focus solely on fulfilling my duties at President for the remainder of my term.”

Biden will remain in office through the election and into 2025. His term as the nation’s 46th president will expire when a new president is sworn in on Inauguration Day, January 20.

President Joe Biden announced he is ending his presidential reelection campaign.

It is an unprecedented move in U.S. history. No major political party's presidential nominee has every dropped out of the race during the general election. But after Biden's poor performance during a debate against former President Donald Trump last month, many Democrats have openly called for a chance at the top of the ticket.

Biden, at 81, is already the oldest president in U.S. history. If reelected, he would've been 86 by the end of his second term.

That remains unclear.

The frontrunner to secure the nomination is widely considered to be Vice President Kamala Harris, especially following Joe Biden's endorsement Sunday.

Not only is Harris, 59, already on the ticket, she could take control over the campaign's $91.5 million in cash reserves, as of the most recent filing last month.