On the national political stage, 2024 will go down in history as the year President Joe Biden bowed out of his run for reelection. What will play out over the next few months could be just as historic.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president,” Biden wrote on social media on Sunday. “And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus entirely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”
Wyoming Democrats to whom Cowboy State Daily spoke late this week expressed a mix of thoughts about whether Biden should stay in the race. Joe Barbuto, chairman of the Wyoming Democratic Party, said Biden's decision to step down only increased his respect for him.
"Throughout the course of his Presidency, I've trusted Joe Biden to make decisions that were in the best interests of our party, and, more importantly, our nation and world," wrote Barbuto in a statement issued Sunday afternoon. "He has yet to let me down, and that remains true today."
Barbuto said the news is contrary to his hopes, but leaves him "in awes of the courage and patriotism it took for President Biden to reach this decision."
On Sunday, Biden caved to pressure from members of his own party asking him to step down following his devastating debate performance against former President Donald Trump in June. Questions about the president’s cognitive abilities were the chief concern for many people about whether Biden should stay in the race.
Writing On The Wall?
As shocking as the news may seem to some, U.S. Sen. Cynthia Lummis told Cowboy State Daily it wasn’t for her.
“I am not surprised President Biden decided to bow out of a race he was going to lose,” she said. “During the past few weeks, the American people have seen President Donald Trump surge ahead in polls and show he is ready to lead our nation while President Biden’s severe cognitive decline has rendered him too weak to continue his campaign.”
U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman agreed in a statement she put out after Biden’s announcement.
“It has long been apparent that Joe Biden has no business running a popsicle stand, let alone the most powerful nation on Earth,” she said.
Hageman said the only reason Democrats wanted Biden to drop out is because they’re convinced he would lose to Trump.
“They don’t care that the president is not capable of fully executing the duties of the office; they only care about winning the upcoming election,” she said. “It’s nakedly political, it’s disgusting and it places the country in danger.”
On his personal account on X (formerly Twitter), U.S. Sen. John Barrasso said Biden’s dropping out of the race shows the “Democrats are running from their record of ruin.”
“They are admitting their failures of the last four years,” he said. “Four more months until Americans elect President Trump, and we get our country back on track.”
Kamala Up Next?
As bad as Biden’s debate performance was, his departure will bring a new crisis for the Democratic Party: deciding who will replace Biden on the ticket for president.
Vice President Kamala Harris will be a lead contender to be his replacement and was endorsed by Biden on Sunday when he made his statement on social media, calling her an “extraordinary partner.”
However, polling numbers for a potential Harris-Trump matchup show Harris doing even worse than Biden.
“If the disastrous debate had not happened so early in the calendar — by demand of the Biden campaign — they and the media would still be lying to hide Biden’s severe cognitive decline,” Hageman said. “The Democrats are now faced with a catastrophe of their own making, and I look forward to finding out who will be their new candidate to get demolished by President Donald Trump in November.”
Some of the other names discussed in Democratic circles include Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
After Biden made his announcement, Newsom put out a statement on X calling Biden “one of the most impactful and selfless presidents.”
Trump disagreed in a statement after Biden’s announcement, saying the president resigned “in complete disgrace.”
“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve - And never was!” Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social. “He only attained the position of president by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his basement. All those around him, including his doctor and the media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t.”
Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray agreed with Trump and called Biden “the worst president in history” and Harris “a disaster.”
“Harris has worked on the Biden administration’s disastrous policies causing inflation and economic harm to America,” he said. “The Democrat mafia is out of control and a total mess. The Democratic Party is replacing a nominee who can barely even form a sentence with a nominee who will also be unable to defend the disastrous Democrat policies of the last three and a half years.”
Barbuto countered, saying the next steps are uncertain, but the Wyoming Democratic Party is resolved to continue Biden's work, and the party as a whole is steadfast.
"Our party's presidential nominee in 2024 will stand on a foundation of success and achievement thanks to the dedicated public service of President Joe Biden," says Barbuto's statement.
Significance
Biden’s departure marks the latest a sitting president has dropped out of a race in the election cycle.
His announcement came just three days after Trump delivered the headline speech at the Republican National Convention, accepting his party’s nomination for a second term. Trump, who had been planning on a rematch with Biden for years, will now face a different and still unknown opponent with only 110 days left until Election Day.
Biden said while he won’t run for reelection, he is still president and intends to finish out his term.
“He is unfit to run in November, which will start a conversation about whether he is able to continue to serve as our nationals president through the end of the year,” Lummis said.
Hageman agrees with Lummis and believes the real decision Biden should make is to resign from the presidency entirely.
“If he’s too decrepit to run for re-election, what’s the credible argument for his staying in office at all?” Hageman said. “The only thing any elected Democrats have against him is that they’re now convinced that he would lose to Donald Trump.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
