President Joe Biden has announced that he will terminate his presidential re-election campaign.
This new development brings a sudden and humbling end to his 50-year political career and upending the battle for the White House only months before Election Day.
Biden was unable to counter growing belief within his party that he was too frail to serve and would lose to Donald Trump in November.
His resignation brings to an end a one-of-a-kind national political career marked by the fall of Richard Nixon and the emergence of Trump.
While Biden made four presidential attempts, he served in the United States Senate for 36 years, representing the tiny state of Delaware.
He climbed to become chairman of the important judiciary and international relations committees and also served eight years as Barack Obama’s vice president.
Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race less than a month before his party’s convention and several months before voters go to the polls is unprecedented in the contemporary political history.
The last sitting president to abandon a reelection effort was Lyndon B. Johnson, whose expansion of the Vietnam War in the 1960s fractured the Democratic Party.
However, Johnson’s declaration eight months before the election.
Joe Biden’s political career
Biden’s political career began in local government when he was elected to the New Castle County Council in 1970.
Just two years later, at the young age of 29, he won a seat in the U.S. Senate, becoming one of the youngest individuals ever elected to that body.
Biden served as a Senator from Delaware for an impressive 36 years, from 1973 to 2009.
During his tenure, he became known for his work on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where he held significant influence, including a term as chairman.
Additionally, he served on the Senate Judiciary Committee, also as chairman, where he was involved in shaping key legislation related to criminal justice and civil rights.
In 2009, Biden transitioned to the role of Vice President under President Barack Obama.
His time in this position was marked by a focus on economic recovery following the Great Recession, during which he played a pivotal role in the administration’s efforts to stabilize the economy.
Biden also represented the United States in various foreign policy matters, notably in Iraq and Ukraine, helping to navigate complex international relationships.
In the 2020 presidential election, Biden ran for President as a Democrat and successfully secured the nomination.
He went on to defeat incumbent President Donald Trump, becoming the oldest person ever elected to the presidency at the age of 78.
His campaign emphasized unity, the need for economic recovery, and a commitment to addressing systemic issues such as healthcare and climate change.
