‘Worst president’: Donald Trump reacts to President Joe Biden dropping out of 2024 election
U.S. former President and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during the last day of the 2024 Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, on July 18, 2024. (BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Former President Donald Trump swiftly reacted to President Joe Biden’s withdrawal from the 2024 election, saying his former opponent was “not fit to run.”
Trump issued his statement on Truth Social, writing, “Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – And never was!”
He continued, “All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t.”
Trump went on to bring up some of his regular campaign talking points, slamming Biden over the border before adding, “We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
At the start of his statement, Trump also called Biden “the Worst President, by far, in the History of our Nation.”
The former president’s campaign immediately began a new fundraising push following Biden’s announcement, writing, “But RIGHT NOW, he just quit the race in COMPLETE DISGRACE!”
House Speaker Mike Johnson wrote on X, “At this unprecedented juncture in American history, we must be clear about what just happened. The Democrat Party forced the Democrat nominee off the ballot, just over 100 days before the election.”
He also called for Biden to resign.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough,” Johnson posted on X.
Sen. Josh Hawley quickly reacted to the Biden news, calling for the president to step down.
“Then RESIGN your office. If you can’t run a mere political campaign, you can’t be President,” he wrote in response to Biden’s statement.
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise wrote on X, “Democrat party bosses just proved that they have absolutely no respect for their own voters. After lecturing others about democracy, they just forced Joe Biden off the ticket—trashing the primary choice of 14 million of their own voters.”
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said in a statement, reacting to Biden’s announcement, “For four years, the American people have faced historic inflation at home, chaos at the border, and weak leadership on the world stage. Our nation is less prosperous and less secure than it was in January, 2021. We cannot afford four more years of failure.”
“Unfortunately, the Democratic Party has been busy in recent weeks trying to upend the expressed will of the American people in primary elections across the country. Washington Democrats have not proven themselves any more capable than the President of delivering the secure borders, safe streets, and stable prices that working families deserve. They are selling open borders, higher prices, climate radicalism, and soft-on-crime policies, and the American people are not buying,” McConnell’s statement concluded.
Trump campaign advisers Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles, on behalf of the former president’s campaign, issued a statement slamming Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Crooked Joe Biden is a complete fraud and a disgrace to our Country,” they said in their statement.
They continued, “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 also questioned Biden staying in office following his decision not to run.
“The question then to Kamala Harris is simple: knowing that Joe Biden withdrew from the campaign because of his rapidly deteriorating condition, does Harris believe the people of America are safe and secure with Joe Biden in the White House for six more months?” they said.
In a statement on Sunday, Biden announced he was withdrawing from the 2024 election.
“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,” he said in his statement.
The president immediately threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris for president.
“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,” Biden said.
“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” Biden said in a post on X. “Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”
Biden said he plans to address the nation later this week with more details on his decision to leave the race.
U.S. Republican Presidential nominee former President Donald Trump speaks during a rally at Herb Brooks National Hockey Center on July 27, 2024 in St Cloud, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, continue to travel to battleground states as Republican vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance campaigns on behalf of himself and former President Donald Trump.
Here’s how the news is developing:
Harris’ college sorority creates PAC
The historically Black Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., of which Vice President Kamala Harris counts herself a member, started its own political PAC last week, according to a filing with the Federal Election Commission posted Monday.
The committee is named Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority PAC, Inc., or AKA 1908 PAC, the filing shows.
Harris has been an AKA since her days as a student at the historically Black Howard University in Washington, D.C. Harris on Monday visited the campus, her office confirmed to ABC News, but it’s not clear why she was there.
In July, before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, Harris spoke at the AKA’s annual Boulé in Dallas, Texas. Since then, as a candidate, she’s also addressed similar national gatherings of two other historically Black sororities, Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho.
Trump says he will return to Butler, Pennsylvania after assassination attempt
After discussing the assassination attempt made against him in Pennsylvania in July, former President Donald Trump said he’s planning a trip back to Butler in October.
“We’re going back to Butler; we’re gonna go back in October,” Trump said, adding, “Butler is a big, great area.”
Addressing what he’ll say when he returns, Trump told Musk, “I think I’ll probably start by saying I was so horribly interrupted.”
Trump discusses assassination attempt with Musk, says he turned head at ‘perfect angle’
During his conversation with Musk, former President Donald Trump addressed the assassination attempt made against him during a campaign rally in July.
“It was amazing that I happened to be turned just at that perfect angle,” Trump said of the bullet, which grazed his right ear while his head was turned.
During the discussion, Trump mentioned the man who was killed in the shooting, saying, it was a “very sad situation.”
“We lost somebody that was firefighter, a great Trumper,” Trump said of Corey Comperatore, adding, “He was a just a fantastic family [man] and a fantastic man.”
Trump and Musk’s conversation on X appears to be delayed
The conversation between former President Donald Trump and Elon Musk appears to be delayed, with many X users reporting they cannot access the Spaces conversation.
“This Space is not available,” appeared for some users on X.
The conversation was scheduled to begin at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Judge orders RFK Jr. off New York ballot
A New York judge ruled Monday that the thousands of signatures gathered by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign in the state were “invalidated” after a Democrat-aligned group argued he misled voters by listing as his home an address he rarely visits.
The judge, Christina Ryba, ordered the New York Board of Elections to not include Kennedy’s name on the ballot this fall.
A lawyer representing Kennedy told reporters last week they would appeal any ruling that went against them.
The ruling could prompt Democrats to bring similar lawsuits against Kennedy in other states where he gathered signatures from registered voters to appear on the ballot.
The FBI is investigating alleged attempts by Iran to target the then-Biden-Harris campaign, sources familiar with the matter confirmed to ABC News.
The alleged targeting via spear-fishing emails occurred before Biden announced he would exit the 2024 presidential race, the sources said.
While the campaign was targeted, the alleged hack was not successful, sources added.
The FBI is investigating a purported hack of the Trump campaign, according to a brief statement from the agency earlier Monday.
The FBI did not attribute the hack to anyone in its statement.
A source familiar with the matter told ABC News that Trump adviser Roger Stone has also been informed that his email accounts have been compromised, and that he’s cooperating with any investigation into the matter.
The Washington Post first reported the news.
-ABC News’ Luke Barr, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim, Will Steakin and Katherine Faulders
Biden, Obama, Clintons tentatively slated to speak at DNC: Sources
President Joe Biden, former President Barack Obama, and Bill and Hillary Clinton are all tentatively slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention next week, sources familiar said.
The working speaking schedule, which can always change, is as follows, according to the sources:
Monday: President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton Tuesday: Former President Barack Obama Wednesday: Vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, former President Bill Clinton Thursday: Vice President Kamala Harris
-ABC News’ MaryAlice Parks and Fritz Farrow
Trump posts on X ahead of Musk interview
Trump posted on X for the first time in nearly a year ahead of his conversation with Elon Musk scheduled for Monday night.
The video posted is a previously released campaign ad referencing his multiple indictments and telling supporters, “They are not coming after me, they are coming after you.”
The last time Trump posted on X was Aug. 24, 2023. It was a picture of his mugshot from Fulton County, when he turned himself in to authorities following his election interference indictment in Georgia.
-ABC News’ Lalee Ibssa, Kelsey Walsh, Soorin Kim
Trump to be interviewed by Elon Musk tonight
Trump, in a post to his conservative social media site Truth Social, announced he will be interviewed live by Musk on X at 8 p.m. ET.
It will mark a major return for Trump to X, formerly known as Twitter, since he was banned from the site following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Trump was reinstated in late 2022 but declined to become active on the site again, despite boasting 88 million followers.
Musk endorsed Trump following the July 13 assassination attempt against the former president. Recently, Musk has amplified misinformation about voting and elections on his X feed.
Walz discusses ‘whirlwind’ 1st week on the campaign trail
In a video posted on his X account, the Minnesota governor discussed what he called “not a normal week” since being named as Harris’ running mate.
Walz confirmed some details reported previously by ABC News and others, including that he informed Harris’ vetting team that he had not used a teleprompter before.
“Not a normal week, which is a good thing. Started by missing a call from the Vice President, pretty important one. And then got that call and honored to join the ticket with Kamala Harris to take us in a great direction,” Walz said.
“After that, it has been a whirlwind. We got on a plane and we flew to Philly, and they told me that in an hour I’d be giving a speech and there would be a teleprompter, something I had never used in my life, so certainly terrified, but was lifted up by the folks in Philly.”
-ABC News’ Will McDuffie
Harris wraps battleground state blitz, Vance makes rounds on Sunday shows
Over the weekend, Harris closed out a cross-country tour that included stops in battleground states Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Arizona, as well as North Carolina and Nevada.
New polling released Saturday showed Harris taking the lead over Trump in Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin among likely voters. The New York Times/Siena College polls showed Harris at 50% among likely voters in each state, while Trump polled at 46%.
Vance, too, campaigned in key 2024 states and made the rounds on the Sunday shows. During his cable news appearances, Vance reiterated campaign talking points on immigration and repeatedly hit Harris for not sitting down for extensive media interviews and laying out her agenda. Harris has done brief gaggles with reporters and said she’d unveil an economic policy platform this week.
Vance responds to mass deportation plan: ‘Let’s start with one million’
Sen. JD Vance told ABC News he blamed Vice President Kamala Harris and the Biden administration’s policies, such as ending “Remain in Mexico,” for the ongoing migrant crisis.
When asked how he and Trump would accomplish their stated goal of mass deporting as many as 20 million immigrants — a proposal experts previously told ABC News would be a “nightmare” — Vance said they would take a “sequential approach.”
“I mean do you go knock on doors and ask people for their papers? What do you do,” Karl asked.
“You start with what’s achievable,” Vance said. “I think that if you deport a lot of violent criminals and frankly if you make it harder to hire illegal labor, which undercuts the wages of American workers, I think you go a lot of the way to solving the illegal immigration problem.”
“I think it’s interesting that people focus on, well, how do you deport 18 million people? Let’s start with one million. That’s where Kamala Harris has failed. And then we can go from there,” Vance said.
Harris cautions donors to ‘not take anything for granted’
Vice President Kamala Harris attended a fundraiser in San Francisco Sunday where she maintained her campaign “will win this election,” but cautioned donors to “not take anything for granted.”
“I know there’s a lot of enthusiasm out there,” Harris said, adding, “And you know, I’ve never been one to really believe in the polls — whether they’re up or they’re down.”
“What we know is the stakes are so high and we can take nothing for granted in this critical moment,” she continued. “So we will fuel our campaign as we have, with enthusiasm and optimism, but also with a deep commitment to the hard work it’s going to take, and to campaign.”
Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi introduced Harris at the event, touting the accomplishments of the Biden-Harris administration and the background of vice presidential nominee Tim Walz, several times calling the Harris-Walz ticket “the freedom ticket.”
“[Harris] makes us all so proud. She brings us so much joy. She gives us so much hope,” Pelosi said, calling the vice president “politically very astute.”
(WASHINGTON) — As the 2024 presidential race intensifies, both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump are making their appeal to the growing Black and Hispanic voting blocs.
Hispanics and Latinos are growing at the second-fastest rate of any major racial and ethnic group in the U.S. electorate since the last presidential election, according to Pew Research Center.
They make up roughly 20% of the U.S. population and are projected to account for almost 15% of eligible voters in November, Pew’s research shows.
The Black community makes up almost 14% of the population, and is projected to account for 14% of eligible voters in November, Pew found.
A majority of both voter blocs voted in favor of Biden in 2020 – 92% of single-race Black, non-Hispanic voters and 59% of Hispanics and Latinos, according to Pew.
A majority of each voter bloc plans to vote for him again in 2024 – but the solid hold on the demographics are wavering.
Biden holds the lead with 49% of Hispanic and Latino voters against Trump’s 42%, according to an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll. Among Black voters, Biden holds the lead with 77% to Trump’s 17%.
A majority of white voters expect to vote for Trump according to the poll – with 53% in favor of the former president against Biden’s 39%.
This comes amid a growing national debate about race and diversity, with some conservatives aiming to remove diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives in schools, the workplace and government who claim they promote racial division and unfair advantages for marginalized groups. Progressives, who aim to solidify these initiatives, say these programs aim to remedy longstanding forms of inequality and discrimination against such groups.
This escalating battle has sent Biden and Trump around the country courting Black and Hispanic voters on the issues of the economy, education, immigration and more.
The appeal to Black voters
Trump has recently attended events at Black Conservative Federation Gala in South Carolina, 180 Church in Michigan and New York City’s South Bronx to court Black voters and announce his “Black Americans for Trump” coalition.
Trump has centered his appeal to Black voters by equating his criminal prosecutions to the historic discrimination Black Americans have faced.
“I got indicted a second time and a third time and a fourth time and a lot of people said that that’s why the Black people like me because they have been hurt so badly and discriminated against. And they actually viewed me as I’m being discriminated against. It’s been pretty amazing,” Trump said in an appearance in the South Bronx, a predominantly Black and Hispanic community.
He continued, asserting that Black people are starting to vote for him because “what’s happening to me, happens to them.”
Trump campaign’s Black media director, Janiyah Thomas, told ABC’s Kyra Phillips that Black voters feel like they’re being taken for granted by the Democratic Party.
“President Trump’s resonating with more people because we’ve had a Black president, we’ve had a Black vice president, and a lot of Black people are saying they have nothing to show for it,” Thomas said.
At the annual NAACP National Convention on July 16, Biden zeroed-in on Trump’s efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act and tax cuts for corporations and wealthier households. He also used the stage to highlight Trump’s past controversial comments on Black figures.
“Black voters haven’t forgotten that this man entered public life calling for the death penalty for the innocent Central Park 5 and entered political life spreading racist conspiracy theories about Barack Obama,” Biden said.
He continued, “We haven’t forgotten that Black unemployment and uninsured rates skyrocketed when Trump was in the White House. And we sure haven’t forgotten Trump repeatedly cozying up to white supremacists and demonizing Black communities to his political benefit – because that’s exactly what he’ll do if he wins a second term. Black voters sent Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House in 2020, and they’re ready to make Donald Trump a two-time loser in 2024.”
Biden has since been targeting Trump on the issues that appear to ring the loudest among Black voters. Pew found that these issues are: improving the education system, strengthening the economy and ensuring the financial stability of Social Security.
“He left no room for us to do what we should be doing: investing in things that affect people’s lives, like child care, eldercare, and so much more that grow the economy and help people,” said Biden.
Trump has also repeatedly touted unfounded claims that undocumented immigrants are taking “Black jobs” and “Hispanic jobs.”
“You know who’s being hurt the most by millions of people pouring into our country? The Black population and the Hispanic population. Because they’re taking the jobs from our Black population, our Hispanic population. ” said Trump at the Republican National Convention. “By the way, you know who’s taking the jobs, the jobs that are created? 107% of those jobs are taken by illegal aliens.”
However, data does not show that immigrants — particularly undocumented immigrants — are taking over the job market. Pew found that 4.6% of U.S. workers in 2021 were unauthorized immigrants, virtually identical to the share in 2017.
It is also unclear what Trump means when referring to “Black” and “Hispanic” jobs.
The appeal to Hispanic voters
Biden has been traveling to states with large Hispanic populations, like Arizona and Nevada, to tout the lowest unemployment rates for Hispanics and the general population seen in decades, his efforts to reduce or cap costs for medication, and the rise in Hispanic entrepreneurship and business ownership under his administration.
He was scheduled to speak on a Spanish-language Univision radio show, as well as a conference for the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights and advocacy organization, UnidosUS, as well as speaking with local union leaders before he tested positive for COVID-19.
His recent slate of Hispanic-focused outreach comes amid the signing of a new executive order to increase funding to Hispanic-serving institutions to “increase Latinos’ access to educational opportunities,” according to a White House official.
The official also told ABC News that the Education Department has proposed a new rule Wednesday to expand federal programs to “help low-income Americans, and those who would be first in their families to go to college, seek higher education” — increasing access to as many as 50,000 people each year including DACA recipients, according to the official.
“Over the past three years, the administration has taken historic action to expand opportunity for Latino families and communities, including creating more than 15 million jobs – with 5 million created for Latinos, helping Latino entrepreneurs start new businesses at the fastest rate in over 10 years, working to ensure equitable educational opportunity for students, addressing our broken immigration system through new executive actions, and more.
Trump has also set his sights on Hispanics and Latinos, forming a “Latino Americans for Trump” coalition that consist of Latino leaders from across the country, including Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas and Marco Rubio of Florida.
“In 2020, we got more votes from Hispanic Americans than any Republican in more than 50 years, and we won the Texas border counties that no Republican candidate had won in more than a century!” the campaign release quoted Trump. “In 2024, we’re going to win an even larger share of the Hispanic American vote, setting all-time records for Republicans up and down the ballot.”
Trump has cited inflation, rising interest rates, and the lack of affordable housing as issues he plans to focus on to turn Latino voters. He’s also doubled down on strict and controversial immigration policies, including plans to deport “millions” as migrant encounters along the southwest border have reached an all-time high in recent months.
His campaign has also touted his criminal indictments, trials and impeachments as alleged “persecution” — aiming to connect with Latinos who may have faced hardships in their home countries.
“Just like the Cuban regime, the Biden regime is trying to put their political opponents in jail, shutting down free speech, taking bribes and kickbacks to enrich themselves,” Trump claimed without evidence at a November 2023 rally in Florida.
Trump has since been convicted of 34 felonies related to the New York hush money trial.
(WASHINGTON) — Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to soon face her first post-convention test when she sits for a formal interview — something she told reporters this month she planned to do by the end of August, but has yet to announce.
With an absence of plans for any such sit-down, Republican critics have accused her of dodging the press.
“She refuses to do any interviews or press conferences, almost 30 days now, she has not done an interview,” former President Donald Trump said of Harris at a North Carolina event earlier this month. “You know why she hasn’t done an interview? Because she’s not smart. She’s not intelligent.”
His campaign has said Harris is trying to “duck and hide” from the news media.
The lack of a media interview has yet to hurt Harris, whose poll number are outpacing those of President Joe Biden when he was atop the Democratic ticket, according to 538’s national polling average. As of Tuesday, Harris is polling ahead of Trump, 47.2% to 43.6%; when Biden left the race, he was polling at 40.2% compared to Trump’s 43.5%, according to 538’s polling average.
Harris has also stirred an enthusiasm from Democrats that had been absent most of the campaign cycle — and is riding a high following last week’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Moreover, she chose a running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, whose rural background has helped the ticket craft a message Democrats have said they believe will make inroads with voters in conservative parts of the country.
All the while, Trump has seemed to abandon the discipline Republicans had lauded him for this summer. Recently, he has made false claims about the crowd size at a Harris rally and appeared to forget to mention a policy proposal he had been slated to unveil at an event in Michigan.
Democrats have cautioned that Harris has several hurdles to clear in the coming weeks.
One of those hurdles is the pending media interview, where Harris would likely have to defend the decisions of the Biden administration and specify some of her policy stances.
On Monday, Trump sought to spotlight Harris’ connection to the Biden administration’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan, laying wreaths in Arlington National Cemetery to commemorate the third anniversary of the suicide bombing that killed 13 U.S. service members.
“Caused by Kamala Harris, Joe Biden, the humiliation in Afghanistan set off the collapse of American credibility and respect all around the world,” Trump claimed when he spoke to National Guardsmen at a Detroit event later Monday.
Harris is also likely to be pressed on how much she knew about Biden’s capacities prior to the June 27 debate. That night, she urged Americans to judge Biden not on the “90 minutes” on stage but the “three-and-a-half years of performance.”
Yet, that same debate performance set in motion a weekslong effort by top Democrats to nudge Biden from the race.
Few had a better understanding of what Biden was like behind the scenes than Harris, his No. 2, and an interviewer would likely challenge her about what she witnessed in private.
Harris would surely be asked about the war in Gaza. She said recently, “We need a cease-fire,” but is a member of an administration that has yet to help broker one.
The situation at the southern border would likely be another topic an interviewer would press Harris on. Republicans have linked her to an increase in unauthorized border crossings earlier in Biden’s term, misleadingly dubbing her the “border czar.”
An interviewer might also ask Harris to respond to the criticism of her recently unveiled economic plan, in which she called for an end to grocery “price-gouging,” prompting accusations by some Republicans that she wants “communist price controls.”
Harris travels this week to south Georgia, where she will embark on a bus tour and hold a rally in Savannah, Georgia.
