Inti Navia 
The announcement everyone was waiting for has arrived. Joe Biden is officially dropping out of the 2024 presidential election.
In a statement released by Biden himself, the President stated his intentions to withdraw himself as the Democratic nominee of the presidential race. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
This comes after weeks of pressure from both the public and within the Democratic party itself for Biden to step down, accelerated from Biden’s Covid diagnosis and after the attempted assassination of Donald Trump. Fearing the increased confidence Trump and his followers gained after the attempt on his life, it seems the Dems finally convinced Biden to step down, and for a new nominee to take his place.
Shortly after his announcement, Biden gave his official endorsement for the next Democratic presidential candidate. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump.”
Kamala Harris would be the first woman and woman of color to ever be President, should she run and win. She’s also received the official endorsement of Bill and Hillary Clinto, who wrote: “We are honored in joining the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her.”
However, there’s been no official announcement as of yet who the actual candidate will be. People have also theorized that other candidates could be Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, Pete Buttigieg, the Secretary of Transportation, or even Michelle Obama.
Chicago is also hosting the Democratic National Convention, from August 19th to the 22nd, at the United Center. No doubt, the Democrats will have chosen a new candidate by then, but you can expect the event to be relatively chaotic. A change in leadership this close to the primaries is probably going to lead to a lot of confusion, as well as the inevitable wave of Trump supporters protesting the convention.
Even though voting is only four months away, a new candidate could offer the Democratic party a better chance of winning the election. Hopefully, whichever candidate they choose, will be a strong one and up to the challenge of winning the 2024 election. Stay tuned.
By Inti Navia, Sophomore, Columbia College Chicago
All Platforms: @intinavia
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