President Joe Biden broke his silence over 24 hours after his extraordinary decision to drop out of the 2024 race with a phone call to what has now become Kamala Harris‘ campaign headquarters.
The 81-year-old spoke to campaign staffers from COVID isolation at his Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, home and told Harris: ‘I’m watching you kid’.
He pledged to still be involved in the reelection fight and said he would continue to hit the campaign trail as he interacted on loudspeaker with his staffers who now work for Harris.
Biden’s comments followed questions of why he hadn’t been seen or heard from since he made his bombshell announcement on X on Sunday afternoon that he was stepping aside.
‘I know yesterday’s news is surprising and hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do,’ the 81-year-old president said.
‘I know it’s hard because you poured your heart and soul into me, to help us win this thing, help me get this nomination, help me win the nomination and then go on to win the presidency,’ he continued.
Already there were signs that the campaign had moved on, with signage that read ‘Harris for President,’ ‘Kamala,’ and ‘Restore Roe’ hung on the walls of the office.
Vice President Kamala Harris visits what had been the headquarters for the Biden-Harris campaign in Wilmington, Delaware on Monday
There was one wall in the Delaware office that remained covered in signs with the ‘Biden-Harris’ logo.
‘I’m hoping you’ll give every bit of your heart and soul that you gave to me to Kamala,’ Biden said. ‘And I want you to know, I won’t be on the ticket but I’m still going to be fully, fully engaged.’
‘I’ve got six months left of my presidency, I’m determined to get as much done as I possibly can – both foreign policy and domestic policy,’ he continued, making mention of ‘working for an end to the war in Gaza.’
The president added that he would be doing ‘whatever Kamala wants me or needs me to do in addition.’
‘So let me be real clear. We’re still fighting in this fight together. I’m not going anywhere,’ the president said.
He hasn’t been seen publicly since Wednesday since testing positive for COVID-19. Biden has been isolating at his Rehoboth Beach home, which is where he made the decision to pull the plug on his reelection hopes.
Biden’s campaign staff had been blindsided with the news that he was dropping out of the 2024 race – finding out via the X post Sunday like the rest of the American people.
‘No one had a heads up before the tweet posted,’ a campaign source told DailyMail.com Sunday. ‘Which to me is an insane way to treat the 1,300 people that work for you,’ the source added.
At 5 p.m. Sunday on an all-staff call, Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon assured aides that their jobs would remain.
She also acknowledged that it was ‘hard for staff who may have gotten the news while they were working or door knocking,’ but that it was ‘important’ that they heard from the president ‘in his own words.’
Shortly after Biden posted the letter saying he was bowing out of the race he said in a follow-up post on X that he was endorsing Harris to take his place as the Democratic nominee.