Your tip
RadarOnlineRadarOnline
or
Sign in with lockrMail
BREAKING NEWS

Biden ‘Really P---ed Off’: Inside the ‘Abrupt End’ That ‘Blindsided’ Campaign Staff… and the Brutal Revelation That Forced President to Drop Political ‘Bomb’

President Joe Biden drops out of the presidential race.
Source: MEGA

Joe Biden's campaign staffers were blindsided by his abrupt announcement that he would not seek re-election.

July 22 2024, Published 11:23 a.m. ET

Link to FacebookShare to XShare to FlipboardShare to Email
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

Despite its seeming inevitability, Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the race still came as a shock – especially to his dedicated campaign staffers, who were blindsided by the abrupt end of the president's bid for re-election.

Isolated at his $3.4 vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware while recovering from COVID, surrounded only by a shrinking inner circle made up of first lady Jill Biden and longtime advisors Anthony Bernal, Annie Tomasini, Mike Donilon, and Steve Ricchetti, the 81-year-old POTUS made the call on Saturday night, RadarOnline.com can reveal.

Biden was “really pissed off” by the betrayal of friends and allies within the Democratic party who had abandoned him, calling for him to step aside in the wake of his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump, and determined to stay in the fight – until Donilon and Ricchetti confronted him with the cold hard facts of new internal polling data showing that he could no longer beat Trump.

Article continues below advertisement
President Joe Biden speaking
Source: MEGA

Biden was reportedly “really pissed off” by the betrayal of friends and allies within the Democratic party who had abandoned him.

Article continues below advertisement

Faced with that brutal revelation, Biden knew what he had to do. He told his family, asked his aides to start drafting a public statement, and prepared to drop a political bombshell on the world.

The next day, Biden called Vice President Kamala Harris and informed her of his decision. He also told his White House chief of staff, Jeff Zients, and campaign chair Jen O'Malley Dilley.

At 1:45 PM on Sunday, he called his senior staff to let them know what was going on. Less than a minute later, while he was still on the call, his official X account announced the news to the public – which is how most of his staff first found out.

Article continues below advertisement
President Joe Biden speaking
Source: MEGA

The president only decided to step aside when he was confronted with new polling data suggesting that he could not beat Donald Trump.

MORE ON:
Joe Biden

DAILY. BREAKING. CELEBRITY NEWS. ALL FREE.

Article continues below advertisement

One campaign staffer told the Daily Mail: “No one had a heads up before the tweet posted. Which, to me, is an insane way to treat the 1300 people that work for you on the campaign.”

An aide added that it “needed to happen' but “he kinda just dropped a bomb. Like it's not surprising but it's shocking”.

Campaign Chair Jen O'Malley Dillon acknowledged that the announcement was “hard for staff who may have gotten the news while they were working or door knocking, but it was important for the president to hear from him in his own words”.

Article continues below advertisement
Photo of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris joining hands.
Source: MEGA

Less than half an hour after announcing his decision to drop out of the race, Biden endorsed his VP, Kamala Harris, for president.

Article continues below advertisement

Never miss a story sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.

Another member of Biden’s re-election team, who only found out after a family member read a news alert, told NBC News that the decision was made at the last-minute: “No one knew. Kamala didn’t even know.”

Less than 30 minutes after withdrawing from the election, Biden officially endorsed Harris.

Minnesota Democratic Party chair Ken Martin, who was preparing a Biden open house in Minneapolis when he heard on the news that Biden had dropped out, quickly organized a conference call with other state party chairs. He said: “Everyone I’ve talked to right now agrees that we have to unify quickly ... The quicker we can unify our party behind a ticket, the sooner we can get this campaign moving.”

More From Radar Online

    Opt-out of personalized ads

    © Copyright 2024 RADAR ONLINE™️. A DIVISION OF MYSTIFY ENTERTAINMENT NETWORK INC. RADAR ONLINE is a registered trademark. All rights reserved. Registration on or use of this site constitutes acceptance of our Terms of Service, Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services. Offers may be subject to change without notice.