Timeline of events leading up to Biden’s exit from the race

President Biden has experienced a tumultuous past few weeks that culminated Sunday with his decision to drop out of the 2024 race.

The 81-year-old president faced enormous pressure to make one of the hardest decisions of his decades-long political career, eventually announcing that he would move aside and support Vice President Harris as his successor.

Here is a timeline of events leading up to Biden’s exit.

June 27: Biden was forced to rethink his political future after the first presidential debate against former President Trump. He had a dismal debate performance, during which his voice was hoarse and he struggled to finish sentences, that immediately led to calls from Democratic operatives for him to drop out.

July 2: The first sitting Democratic lawmaker called for Biden to drop out of the race when Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) publicly urged him to end his bid. By the time Biden did drop out, about 30 Democratic lawmakers had joined those calls.

July 3: Biden and his team made the rounds to try to stop the bleeding and kicked the campaign into high gear to ease concerns among Democrats. That day, he spoke with Democratic congressional leadership and Democratic governors. He also spoke with his campaign staff and had his chief of staff Jeff Zients reassure White House aides.

July 5: In an effort to show he can participate in unscripted events, Biden participated in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. During that interview, Biden said he was “feeling terrible” before the debate and defended his health. Also that day, Biden campaigned in Wisconsin and fought back against critics during his first major rally since calls for him to drop out piled up.

July 8: Biden dared other Democrats to challenge him at the convention in August during a defiant interview on “Morning Joe.” Also that day, the White House faced a series of questions over visitor logs that showed a neurologist who specializes in Parkinson’s disease visited the campus several times in recent months.

July 11: Biden held a press conference at the end of the NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., during which he was adamant that he was the best person to take on Trump in November. But he also faced fresh scrutiny after referring to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky by Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name. He also later referred to Harris as “Vice President Trump.”

July 12: Biden said at a rally in Michigan that he’s not dropping out because voters made him the Democratic presidential nominee, taking a jab at the press, pundits, insiders and donors.

July 13: Trump survived an assassination attempt at a rally in Pennsylvania. Biden gave three different public remarks in the days after to call for unity, and he paused campaign activities for three days. He and Trump spoke on the phone, and there was a brief pause in calls from lawmakers for Biden to step down.

July 15: Biden sat for an interview with NBC’s Lester Holt, during which he sparred with Holt over his line of questioning about the fallout from the debate. He appeared frustrated when Holt asked if he would consider debating Trump again before the September debate.

July 17: Biden tested positive for COVID-19 while campaigning in Las Vegas. He was isolating at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Del., when he announced his decision to step down four days later.

July 19: Biden entered the weekend, during which he ultimately made the decision to back out of the race, after 10 more sitting Democrats called for him to drop out of the race that day. Pressure was building from party leaders like former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and former President Obama, who have all reportedly told Biden he’s likely to lose to Trump. 

July 21: Biden announced that he was dropping out of the race. About 30 lawmakers had called for him to exit, including Sens. Joe Manchin (I-W.Va.) and Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) in the final day.