| | | | |  | | By Eugene Daniels, Rachael Bade and Ryan Lizza | Presented by ExxonMobil | With help from Eli Okun, Garrett Ross and Bethany Irvine
|  | SPECIAL REPORT | | | | 
President Joe Biden endorsed VP Kamala Harris as his successor. | Hannah Beier/Bloomberg via Getty Images | Good evening, Playbookers. We’re back this evening with another special edition after another day of stunning news: A presidential race that just one month ago appeared destined to be a grinding matchup between two aging and unpopular men has now been transformed. President JOE BIDEN on Sunday afternoon became the first sitting president eligible for a second term to forgo reelection since LYNDON BAINES JOHNSON in 1968. Ailing from Covid, Biden explained in a letter that it was “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.” Biden then endorsed VP KAMALA HARRIS as his successor a few moments later, offering her “my full support and endorsement” ahead of the Democratic National Convention next month. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat [DONALD] TRUMP,” he wrote. “Let’s do this.” By 4:51 p.m., the change was official: “Biden for President” officially renamed itself “Harris for President.”
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: At ExxonMobil, we’ve captured more CO2 than any other company, so we have the expertise to help some of the most carbon-intensive sectors. With more than 30 years' experience, we’re a global leader in carbon capture and storage. Now, we’re advancing projects around the world, including in Louisiana and Texas, to help us and our customers reduce emissions. Let’s deliver. | | | The decision was as sudden as it was stunning. Biden had faced mounting class to step aside since his disastrous June 27 debate performance, but as Eugene, Elena Schneider and Adam Cancryn write today, “Biden and his inner circle of trusted aides had remained confident in his path to victory, a deep-seated belief rooted in his five decades of ups and downs in politics and the conviction that he has repeatedly defied expectations after being counted out.” That all changed this weekend. As he recovered from his illness yesterday in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, he huddled with senior aides STEVE RICCHETTI, MIKE DONILON, ANNIE TOMASINI and ANTHONY BERNAL about his path to re-election, even as the rest of the Biden political universe were “full speed ahead” on his sputtering campaign. Biden began to come to a final decision yesterday evening, and earlier today he started making calls to a wider circle to inform them of this decision: Harris (in the first of several calls today), followed by Chief of Staff JEFF ZIENTS and Campaign Manager JENNIFER O’MALLEY DILLON. He then held a call with a broader group of senior campaign and White House advisors one minute before his letter went public, upending the political universe. To give a sense of just how tightly Biden kept his decision, consider that his campaign team was in the process of whipping convention delegates as he made his initial calls relaying his decision to withdraw, as our colleague Jonathan Martin reports. Soon after the announcement, senior adviser ANITA DUNN held a call with communications staff where she implied that she wasn’t immediately privy to the final decision. Dunn said the administration still had big things to accomplish and needed to also focus on defending and protecting Harris, according to a person on the call.
| | | | Live briefings, policy trackers, and procedural, industry, and people intelligence from POLITICO Pro Analysis gives you the insights you need to focus your policy strategy this election cycle. Secure your seat. | | | | | |  Jacqui Boland, places a sign in front of the U.S. Naval Observatory, where Vice President Kamala Harris lives on Sunday, July 21, 2024. | AP | ALL EYES ON HARRIS … Harris in an initial statement thanked Biden “for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country.” “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she wrote. Those last words — “to earn and win this nomination” — obscured huge questions about what exactly will come next for the Democratic Party. The vast majority of Democratic delegates who are pledged to Biden do not automatically redound to Harris. As our colleague Steven Shepard explains, the Democratic National Committee “had been preparing to hold a virtual roll call vote to officially pick the nominee, starting as early as the middle of next week. But now those plans — which were expected to be finalized and approved by this Friday — are in flux. … “A DNC spokesperson did not immediately respond to questions about whether that means they will proceed with a virtual roll call before the convention, or do it on the convention floor in Chicago — as is customary — the week of Aug. 19.”
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: The world needs ways to reduce carbon emissions. At ExxonMobil, we’re working on solutions in our own operations – like carbon capture and clean energy from hydrogen – that could also help in other industries like manufacturing, commercial transportation and power generation, too. Helping deliver heavy industry with low emissions. | | | What is clear is that a broad swath of the party has rallied behind Harris in the past five hours in a bid to build unity and inevitability behind the VP. Some of the most notable endorsements have come from BILL and HILLARY CLINTON; Sen. PATTY MURRAY (D-Wash.), the highest-ranking woman in the Senate; Rep. JIM CLYBURN (D-S.C.); the leaders of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Asian and Pacific Islander Caucus; Sens. TAMMY BALDWIN (D-Wis.), MARK KELLY (D-Ariz.) and ELIZABETH WARREN (D-Mass.); Reps. STENY HOYER (D-Md.) and ADAM SCHIFF (D-Calif.); Pennsylvania Gov. JOSH SHAPIRO; and the powerhouse fundraisers at Emily’s List. But there were those who conspicuously chose not to back Harris in their statements — most notably former President BARACK OBAMA, who hailed Biden then said, “I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges.” Others who either refrained from naming Harris or outright called for an open nominating process included former Speaker NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.), who praised Biden but said nothing about his successor; Rep. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-Texas), the first lawmaker who called on Biden to step aside; Sen. JACKY ROSEN (D-Nev.), who is facing a difficult re-election fight; Rep. ELISSA SLOTKIN (D-Mich.), who is in a tough Senate race of her own; Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.), who pushed back strongly on calls for Biden to step aside; and Rep. SUZAN DelBENE (D-Wash.), who is trying to retake the House majority this fall. While we’re watching closely who says what, we’ll also note this: There’s not necessarily any dissonance between calling for an “open process” and backing Harris — which is a two-step that a number of Democrats, such as Sen. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-Conn.), are attempting at the moment. And keep in mind that the divide between those who endorse Harris and those who don’t might very well amount to a distinction without a difference: No one has yet stepped forward to challenge her for the nomination, and given Biden’s endorsement and the rallying of much of the party behind her, it’s entirely possible that no one credible will. (Sorry, MARIANNE WILLIAMSON.)
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil:   | | | AS FOR THE GOP … Trump’s initial reaction was, in a word, Trumpian: “He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement,” he wrote on Truth Social minutes after the announcement. “We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Other campaign messengers, however, showed more discipline, arguing that Harris is the flip side of the same coin policy-wise. As running mate JD VANCE put it this afternoon: “Joe Biden has been the worst President in my lifetime and Kamala Harris has been right there with him every step of the way,” he wrote. “She owns all of these failures, and she lied for nearly four years about Biden's mental capacity--saddling the nation with a president who can't do the job.” RNC Chair MICHAEL WHATLEY said much the same in a Fox News appearance: “We are not going to be changing our plans because President Trump is going to run his race, and whether it is Kamala Harris or anyone else, they are going to run on the exact same failed agenda that Joe Biden has been running over the last four years.” Trump campaign organs are prepping a barrage of anti-Harris ads in the coming days, Alex Isenstadt, Natalie Allison and Meridith McGraw report: “MAGA Inc., the principal pro-Trump super PAC, said it was immediately launching Harris-focused commercials in Pennsylvania, Georgia and Arizona, with one ad saying Harris was ‘in on it’ and had ‘covered up Joe Biden’s obvious mental decline.’” But you can also expect plenty of attention among the GOP rank-and-file to lingering questions about Biden’s fitness for office and whether, in their telling, Harris was part of a conspiracy to cover up his mental deterioration. Scores of Republican lawmakers, including Speaker MIKE JOHNSON (though notably not Senate Minority Leader MITCH McCONNELL), called on Biden to resign following his announcement today.
| | | | SUBSCRIBE TO GLOBAL PLAYBOOK: Don’t miss out on POLITICO’s Global Playbook, our newsletter taking you inside pivotal discussions at the most influential gatherings in the world. Suzanne Lynch delivers the world's elite and influential moments directly to you. Stay in the global loop. SUBSCRIBE NOW. | | | | | “If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President,” Johnson wrote — a sentiment that was echoed by Rep. ELISE STEFANIK (R-N.Y.), Sen. RICK SCOTT (R-Fla.) and many others. Trump adviser JASON MILLER was among those who implicated Harris in having “lied & covered up for Biden” until the debate revealed publicly the extent of his slippage. Expect much more attention to this issue this week on Capitol Hill, with Rep. NANCY MACE (R-S.C.) aiming to bring the issue of Biden’s competence to the House floor. Another GOP effort you might see develop: efforts to keep Biden on the presidential ballot in some states. But as Kyle Cheney explains, don’t expect those efforts to get very far: “No state will have printed ballots prior to the Democratic National Convention, and the nominee chosen by the party at or in the run up to the convention was always slated to be the person who appears on the ballot in each state.” OTHER BIG READS … - “Why Biden finally quit,” by Eli Stokols, Jonathan Lemire, Elena Schneider and Sarah Ferris: “In addition to presenting new concerns from lawmakers and updates on a fundraising operation that had slowed considerably, [Donilon and Ricchetti] carried the campaign’s own polls, which came back this week and showed his path to victory in November was gone, according to five people familiar with the matter, who, like others interviewed for this article, were granted anonymity to discuss private conversations.”
- “Democratic online donations are flooding ActBlue,” by Jessica Piper: “Since Biden's announcement, the platform — which includes presidential fundraising as well as down-ballot candidates and Democratic-aligned groups — has raised more than $27.5 million. That’s far more than normal: Over roughly the same time period yesterday afternoon, for example, it saw about $2.7 million in donations, or one-tenth today’s amount.”
- “Dem ticket shakeup breathes new life into abortion-rights fight,” by Alice Miranda Ollstein: “The country’s biggest abortion-rights groups quickly rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris on Sunday, either explicitly backing her bid for president in the wake of Joe Biden's announcement or, at the very least, praising her record. All argued that Harris’ ability to speak bluntly and forcefully on abortion rights — and her record on the issue as California attorney general, senator and vice president — give her an edge, particularly as her GOP opponents seek to dodge the issue.”
Thanks for reading. We’ll be back in your inboxes at the usual time tomorrow morning with the very latest. We’ll be back in your inboxes at the usual time tomorrow morning with the very latest.
| | | | A message from ExxonMobil: Today, heavy industry, power generation and commercial transportation account for nearly 80% of energy-related CO2 emissions. For these businesses, setting and achieving meaningful carbon-reduction goals can be complex. At ExxonMobil, we’ve been working on reducing our own carbon emissions. At our Baytown plant, one of the world’s largest integrated refining and petrochemical operations, we’re planning to deploy hydrogen power and carbon capture to reduce the site’s emissions by up to 30%. Now, we’re taking solutions like these to others in heavy industry. Using our technologies, we can help businesses create a plan to make similar reductions. And together, we can deliver a lower-emissions future. Let’s deliver. | | | | | | | Follow us on Twitter | | | | Subscribe to the POLITICO Playbook family Playbook | Playbook PM | California Playbook | Florida Playbook | Illinois Playbook | Massachusetts Playbook | New Jersey Playbook | New York Playbook | Ottawa Playbook | Brussels Playbook | London Playbook View all our political and policy newsletters | | Follow us | | | | |
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