On Sunday afternoon, President Joe Biden shocked the nation when he announced that he would drop out of the 2024 presidential race. The move was unexpected, as Biden maintained that he would remain in the race despite the constant calls from fellow Democrats to step aside and allow a more viable candidate to take on former President Donald Trump in November.
Biden wrote on X, “My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. 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. 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. Let’s do this.”
In the aftermath of the surprising news, Christian leaders from around the country have weighed in on the political implications of Biden’s decision. Evangelical activist Michael Wear, who worked under the Obama administration, encouraged his followers to solidify their beliefs and not be afraid to question the status of the Democratic Party.
“I encourage people to actually get clear on what you think, what you believe, right now. You don’t need to broadcast it,” he said on X. “But don’t let the same people who told you in February that it was foolish to question Biden, and then told you in July that it was foolish to not want Biden to step down, now tell you that it’s foolish if you have some questions about the next thing they’re planning to do.”
Former Arkansas Huckabee Mike took to X, voicing a question that many Americans currently have: how is Biden fit to serve the remainder of his presidency if he is not fit to run for reelection? “Biden bails out saying he’s not able to be a candidate,” he said. “But he thinks he’s able to still be President? I truly believe being President is harder than being candidate. Unless he really HASN’T been functioning as President anyway, which isn’t the least bit comforting.”
President of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Albert Mohler Jr., discussed the monumental moment in American history. “Well, you’re going to remember yesterday. It’s going to be one of those days etched into the American historical memory, particularly as related to presidential elections,” Mohler said. “The announcement that came yesterday was a bolt out of the blue, and the indications of that are that members of the administration itself had been at least engaging the press as late as Sunday morning insisting that the president was not going to withdraw from the race.”
The Southern Baptist leader also warned about the political ramifications of a Kamala Harris presidency. Mohler suggested that “Joe Biden hitched his wagon to a very liberal trend, a liberal ideology” before adding “if indeed Kamala Harris is the next nominee, you’re talking about a vast leap to the left in terms of political ideology.”
Watch Donald Trump giving glory to God after surviving the assassination attempt:
Featured image credit: The White House, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Joe_Biden_speaking_about_the_Cancer_Moonshot.jpg