Inside the Weekend That Change Presidential Frontrunners

 

The New York Times

“I need you and Mike at the house,” President Biden said late Saturday afternoon.

Mr. Biden was on the phone from his vacation home in Rehoboth, Del., with Steve Ricchetti, a counselor to the president and one of his closest advisers. He was referring to Mike Donilon, his chief strategist and longtime speechwriter. Soon, both men were in Rehoboth, socially distanced from the president, who was recovering from Covid.

From that afternoon and far into the night, the three worked on one of the most important and historic letters of Mr. Biden’s presidency — the announcement of his decision to withdraw from his re-election campaign after top Democrats, donors, close allies, and friends had pressured him relentlessly to get out.

He would not tell most of his staff until a minute before making the historic announcement to the world on social media on Sunday. Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Mr. Biden went on to endorse, spoke to him earlier on Sunday morning, as did Jeff Zients, his chief of staff, and Jen O’Malley Dillon, his campaign chair. A handful of senior advisers at the White House heard directly from the president on a Zoom call. Others in the West Wing learned when they saw it pop on social media.

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

The concession was stunning and discordant with the steady drumbeat of furious denials in the past few days from Mr. Biden’s campaign. It underscored how the president has kept information tightly controlled among a tiny circle of friends, longtime advisers, and family members — something that has been true throughout his presidency, but especially during the crisis that has engulfed him since last month’s debate.

From the time the president arrived in Delaware with COVID late Wednesday night, telling reporters “I am doing well,” there have been two political realities: One was a sprawling campaign infrastructure on autopilot, determined to march ahead by continuing to champion Mr. Biden. The other was playing out inside the 6,850-square-foot home with a sign over the front door paying tribute to the president’s son who died in 2015: “Beau’s gift.”

Almost no one outside of the house knew what Mr. Biden was thinking until he posted his statement on social media on Sunday. Until that moment, Mr. Biden’s allies had no choice but to assume that he was all in until he made clear that he was out.

This account is based on interviews with people close to Mr. Biden, including lawmakers, donors, friends, and family who were familiar with the president’s thinking as he made what may be the most difficult political decision of his career.

‘Absolutely in It!’

Ms. O’Malley Dillon could not say it more plainly as she appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” program to defend Mr. Biden. 

“Absolutely, the president’s in this race,” she said Friday morning, a trace of exasperation in her voice. She added: “He’s absolutely in it. He’s got to show that he is fighting for the American people. He’s done that day in and day out since the debate.”

Like other confidants, Ms. O’Malley Dillon was determined to keep the faith in public. At the campaign and at the White House, aides directed reporters to her comments as they insisted that the president was not wavering.

But it was getting harder to ignore the panicking donors and the elected Democrats who were turning on him in public.

Over the day on Friday, about a dozen more lawmakers called for the president to step aside and let someone else run. The quotes were damning.

Representative Seth Moulton, Democrat of Massachusetts, said that Mr. Biden, “a mentor and friend” who had helped him get elected in 2014, “didn’t seem to recognize me” when they met at the D-Day anniversary commemoration in France last month. 

Throughout the day, there was no public word from Mr. Biden, who was hunkered down with his wife, Jill Biden; Mr. Ricchetti; Annie Tomasini, his deputy chief of staff; and Anthony Bernal, the first lady’s senior adviser.

People close to the president said they could sense that the seriousness of the moment was weighing on him. But if he knew he was going to drop out at that point, it was not clear, even to the small number of the people around him.

By the evening, some people very close to the president could sense that something was coming, telling others that the end of Mr. Biden’s campaign seemed inevitable. But others were hearing a different message from the president himself.

Ron Klain, who served as Mr. Biden’s first chief of staff in the White House and has continued to advise the president, called Mr. Biden Friday night to pass along words of encouragement.

Mr. Klain had received messages of support for Mr. Biden from Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, as well as Faiz Shakir, a senior adviser to Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont. 

“Stay in,” Mr. Klain said he told Mr. Biden.

“That’s my intention,” Mr. Biden responded. “That’s what I’m going to do.”

‘Still on the Playing Field’

The national co-chairs of Mr. Biden’s campaign gathered on their regular call on Saturday morning, bracing for what they thought could be big news about Mr. Biden’s future.

The call was hosted by Ms. O’Malley Dillon and included Jeffrey Katzenberg, the Hollywood mogul and donor, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Representative Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, and several other high-profile figures who had been early endorsers of Mr. Biden’s bid for a second term.

Given everything that had happened just the day before, they expected dire news.

But the group was stunned when staff members simply began a rote description of the latest details on door-knocking and social media. After about a half-hour, two or three of the exasperated co-chairs interrupted, saying they needed to talk about the elephant in the room.

An anguished discussion followed, but there was no resolution.

Cedric Richmond, a former Democratic member of Congress and a longtime friend of the president’s, got on the call late but insisted that Mr. Biden’s supporters were still behind him, especially those who benefit from his policy goals like child care and diversity. 

“Joe Biden is still on the playing field, so I will wear that Team Biden jersey until the last bell rings,” he said after the call ended. Asked if he thought Mr. Biden could withstand the flurry of negative news in recent days, Mr. Richmond said: “I sure hope so.”

A week earlier, Senator Chuck Schumer, the New York Democrat and majority leader, who is one of Mr. Biden’s strongest allies, had delivered a grim message to his face. He told the president that most members of Congress were ready to turn the page on his candidacy, and he urged him to consider three things: the risks to his personal legacy, the future of the country, and the impact on Congress if Democrats were to take steep losses in November’s elections.

“I need another week,” Mr. Biden responded, according to a person with knowledge of the 35-minute meeting on July 13.

Once that week was up, and Mr. Biden was inching toward his decision, some of his closest allies — including Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a co-chair of the Biden-Harris campaign — were spending days at two national security forums at the Aspen Institute. While they debated the future of Ukraine, the challenge of China, and the impact of new technologies, they were calling into meetings meant to divine Mr. Biden’s intentions.

Mr. Coons, a close friend of Mr. Biden’s, called in from Aspen. To reporters, he issued a vociferous defense, saying that Mr. Biden “deserves the respect” to make his decision in private. 

Three Phone Calls

Mr. Biden seemed to show signs of a change of mind Saturday in a conversation joined by Mr. Ricchetti, Ms. Tomasini, and Mr. Bernal. Mr. Donilon, summoned by the president, arrived around 4 p.m.

The president had tried for weeks to flip the attention from his listless and at times incoherent debate performance last month back to his Republican opponent, Donald J. Trump.

But nothing seemed to work.

Still sick and raspy, the president opted to announce his decision by letter rather than on camera, and worked on drafting it with Mr. Donilon, the author of many of the president’s public words, while Mr. Ricchetti focused on the next steps, like when to inform the staff, how to do it and who else would need to be notified.

The letter was finalized Sunday, even as unaware White House officials and the president’s allies were still pressing reporters with comments about how determined the president was to stay in the race, defeat Mr. Trump, and serve another term.

Just after 11 a.m., even as Mr. Biden was preparing his exit, Mr. Richmond — one of the president’s top campaign surrogates — was on CBS’s “Face the Nation” program saying, “I want to be crystal clear, he’s made a decision. And that decision is to accept the nomination and run for re-election, win re-election.” 

The first three to hear the truth were Ms. Harris, Mr. Zients, and Ms. O’Malley Dillon, each in separate phone calls from Mr. Biden, according to several people familiar with the notifications.

At 1:45 p.m. on Sunday — a minute before Mr. Biden posted his letter of withdrawal to the world — the president told several of his advisers, including Anita Dunn, who manages communications strategy. He read the letter to them and thanked his staff for their service.

“Come to me with the work, and let’s get it done,” the president told them.

Mr. Zients then held a call with other White House officials to confirm that it was true and thank them for all their hard work, followed by a similar call he held with members of his cabinet, who were not aware until the posting went online. Mr. Biden spent part of the day making phone calls to congressional leaders and other allies.

He decided to announce the end of his candidacy on X, according to people familiar with the decision, because it gave him the ability to do it “his way,” avoiding the intrigue and leaks that have plagued his campaign in recent weeks.

The posting on X went out at 1:46 p.m.

A Chorus of Alerts

In the ranks of the White House, some were in shock. Others were crying. And others were relieved, at least, to know that a decision had been made and the campaign could move forward. 

In Aspen, Mr. Coons was speaking on a panel titled “The End of Trust? AI and Misinformation and Disinformation.” In the middle of a discussion about the risks of deep fakes in the coming presidential election, members of the audience, including reporters, were trying to figure out whether the president’s letter was itself a deep fake.

Eventually, the session was interrupted by Condoleezza Rice, the former secretary of state, who turned to the handful of journalists in the room to ask whether it had been confirmed. Checking their phones, they said it had — and Mr. Coons slipped out to return a call from the White House.

Mr. Klain said he was shocked that Mr. Biden had changed his mind.

“I’m sad about it,” he said in an interview after Mr. Biden’s announcement. “The president was our best candidate in 2024, and I’m sad that this effort to push him out succeeded. But I do think it’s time for the party to unite, and I think Vice President Harris is a very strong candidate.”

Many statements of praise soon followed, from politicians, friends, and family.

“For my entire life, I’ve looked at my dad in awe,” his son, Hunter, wrote. “How could he suffer so much heartache and yet give so much of whatever remained of his heart to others?”

He added: “I’m so lucky every night I get to tell him I love him and to thank him. I ask all Americans to join me tonight in doing the same. Thank you, Mr. President. I love you, Dad.”

David E. Sanger, Erica L. Green, Carl Hulse, and Kenneth P. Vogel contributed reporting.

Katie Rogers is a White House correspondent. For much of the past decade, she has focused on features about the presidency, the first family, and life in Washington, in addition to covering a range of domestic and foreign policy issues. She is the author of a book on first ladies. More about Katie Rogers

Michael D. Shear is a White House correspondent for The New York Times, covering President Biden and his administration. He has reported on politics for more than 30 years. More about Michael D. Shear

Peter Baker is the chief White House correspondent for The Times. He has covered the last five presidents and sometimes writes analytical pieces that place presidents and their administrations in a larger context and historical framework. More about Peter Baker

Zolan Kanno-Youngs is a White House correspondent, covering President Biden and his administration. More about Zolan Kanno-Youngs