By Sharon C. Jenkins
July 21, 2024, will be a day of remembrance in American history! In a brief message to his constituency, President Joe Biden posted the fol-lowing on X: “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 inter-est 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.” Th is rare occurrence has not happened since 1968, when Lyndon B. Johnson pulled out of the presidential race. Former President Barack Obama had this to say about Biden on Sunday, “Joe Biden has been one of America’s most con-sequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me,” adding that Mr. Biden “pointed us away from the four years of chaos, false-hood, and division that had characterized Donald Trump’s administration.” He went on to say, “I also know Joe has never backed down from a fight.
For him to look at the political landscape and decide that he should pass the torch to a new nominee is surely one of the toughest in his life. But I know he wouldn’t make this decision unless he believed it was right for America. It’s a testament to Joe Biden’s love of country — and a historic example of a genuine public servant once again put-ting the interests of the American people ahead of his own that future generations of leaders will do well to follow.”
During his presidency, Biden has lowered costs of families’ everyday expenses, put more people to work, been the catalyst for a huge manufacturing boom in America, rescued the economy and changed the course of the pandemic, rebuilt the nation’s infrastructure, signed into law the PACT Act – expanding benefits for veterans who have been exposed to toxic chemicals, coordinated the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act to curtail gun violence, and instituted historic student debt relief for middle and working-class families. These are only a few of the many accomplishments he spearheaded during his four years in office.
As if the shock of the finality of his decision wasn’t enough, thirty minutes aft er he announced his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election, he made another announcement… “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.” When President Joe Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, the world turned around to take notice. Over 40,000 black women met on Zoom soon after this endorsement to announce.
