Riverside County elected leaders were weighing in Sunday on President Joe Biden’s announcement that he’s withdrawing from the 2024 presidential campaign.
Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Indio, called Biden “an extraordinary leader. For decades, he has put the needs of America over his own personal agenda, and today’s decision is another demonstration of that. I have no doubt that history will treat him as one of America’s greatest and most effective Presidents.
“We should all take a moment to reflect on his many accomplishments,” he added.
“.. While we will need a few days to develop a process that ensures a fair outcome representing the will of the majority of Democratic voters, I intend to support Vice President Kamala Harris,” Ruiz added. “As Attorney General, US Senator, and Vice President, she has shown her commitment to all of these principles. And, through her partnership with President Biden, she has developed experience and knowledge unmatched by any other potential candidate. I stand with Kamala Harris and will do everything I can to help her make history, put people over politics, and protect the American Dream.”
Republicans had a different view.
“Now that Biden has done the right thing for Democrats, will he do the right thing for the country?” Rep. Darrell Issa, D-Temecula, said on X.
“Biden has dropped out. On full display is the complete unstable mess known as the democrat party that thinks it can govern the country,” state Sen. Melissa Melendez, R-Murrieta, posted. “Biden is going to be big mad when he awakens from his nap and finds out he dropped out of the race,” Melendez added.
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Riverside, who called on Biden to withdraw from the race earlier this month and later said the president should “pass the torch” to Vice President Kamala Harris, had not issued a statement as of Sunday afternoon.
After rejecting calls from congressional Democrats to withdraw from the race amid concerns about his age and fitness to run against Republican presidential nominee and former President Donald Trump, Biden abruptly reversed course Sunday, days after he was diagnosed with COVID-19.
“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,” the president said in a statement released shortly after 10:30 a.m. Pacific time.
“I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision,” he added.
Biden later issued a second statement endorsing Harris, who maintains a home in Brentwood and is a former California senator and attorney general.
“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” the statement said. “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. 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. Let’s do this.”
Harris issued the following statement Sunday afternoon:
“On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country. His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many Presidents who have served two terms in office. It is a profound honor to serve as his Vice President, and I am deeply grateful to the President, Dr. Biden, and the entire Biden family.
” … I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she continued. “Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”
The Democratic Party is now faced with a possible rift between those backing Harris and others who favor an open competition before the Democratic National Convention, which will be held in Chicago from Aug. 19-22.
Trump wasted little time in weighing in on the withdrawal of the man who beat him in the 2020 election.
“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was!” Trump wrote on 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 – And now, look what he’s done to our Country, with millions of people coming across our Border, totally unchecked and unvetted, many from prisons, mental institutions, and record numbers of terrorists. We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, Trump campaign senior advisors, elaborated on that criticism with a statement that slammed Biden for his record on immigration, crime, the economy and foreign affairs.
“And during this entire term, Kamala Harris — as well as every other Democrat in Washington, sat by and did nothing. They are all just as complicit as Biden is in the destruction of our once-great Nation, and they must all be thrown out of office,” they wrote.
“Kamala Harris is just as much of joke as Biden is. Harris will be even worse for the people of our Nation than Joe Biden. Harris has been the Enabler in Chief for Crooked Joe this entire time. They own each other’s records, and there is no distance between the two. Harris must defend the failed Biden Administration and her liberal, weak-on-crime record in CA.”
Former President Barack Obama, under whom Biden served for eight years as vice president, released a lengthy statement Sunday praising Biden for his friendship and his record as president.
“Sixteen years ago, when I began my search for a vice president, I knew about Joe’s remarkable career in public service. But what I came to admire even more was his character — his deep empathy and hard-earned resilience; his fundamental decency and belief that everyone counts,” Obama said.
“Since taking office, President Biden has displayed that character again and again. … President Biden pointed us away from the four years of chaos, falsehood, and division that had characterized Donald Trump’s administration.”
The former president avoided making an endorsement of who should replace Biden on the ticket.
“We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges,” he wrote.