(This article has been edited for grammar and spelling)
President Biden will no longer be the Democratic Party’s nominee.
President Joe Biden has announced his decision to pull himself from contention for the Democratic nomination for president.
In a post on X, Biden highlighted his accomplishments across healthcare, gun safety and infrastructure, among others, but stated, “I believe it’s in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down…”
Shortly after, President Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who has stated her intention to run for the position.
For the past few months, Biden’s reelection efforts have been hampered by allegations of cognitive decline and a growing field of influential Democrats openly calling for him to step down.
His opposition grew after the June presidential debate. Biden’s performance was widely criticized by both the right and left, as onlookers viewed Biden as weak and inept in the face of an energetic Donald Trump.
While Biden has grown to become a very polarizing figure in American politics, what can’t be denied is that his term has been incredibly consequential.
On the domestic front, President Biden’s administration worked to combat both the COVID-19 Pandemic and the recession it caused.
Biden also worked on multiple large pieces of legislation.
In 2021, Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act into law. This dedicated around $1.2 trillion to infrastructure investment, $550 billion of which was new investment on top of what congress was already planning to authorize.
The Chips and Science Act, which was signed in 2022, invested $280 billion dollars into science and technology research, especially the development of domestic semiconductor production.
Also in 2022, Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act. The bill focused on lowering prescription drug prices, increasing the capacity of the IRS and investing hundreds of billions of dollars into curbing climate change through proliferating renewable energy infrastructure and providing loans, subsidies and tax credits for decarbonization.
Globally, Biden has rallied around old allies, and tried to court new ones.
Since the outbreak of Israel’s war in Gaza, Biden has given Israel over $12 billion dollars, according to the Council on Foreign Relations. He has also supported the country diplomatically as they’ve carried out their war.
Additionally, since Russia’s 2022 invasion, the U.S. has been Ukraine’s greatest individual backer, with aid totaling $175 billion dollars, based on data from the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.
Biden’s announcement comes only a few weeks before the Democratic National Convention, where the Democrat’s Candidate for president will officially be chosen.
