We had been hearing rumors that this would happen as soon as "possibly this weekend" for the past several days. But so what? We've been hearing the same rumors ever since the debate. Except this time it finally happened. President Joe Biden penned a letter to America announcing that he is ending his bid to seek a second term. He will address the country on this subject later this week. Just to avoid any confusion up front, Biden is not resigning from office. He's sticking around, but will not seek to be the party's nominee for the November elections. The New York Post was one of the first outlets to publish the announcement.

President Biden made the historically rare decision Sunday to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, less than four months after being declared the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee and days after a dismal debate showing.

The 81-year-old president’s exit from the race – months before Election Day – comes after a debate performance against former President Donald Trump in which the incumbent appeared infirm and was at times incoherent – alarming Democratic donors and strategists. 

Biden’s withdrawal is expected to set off a free-for-all for the Democratic nomination for president. 

The president cannot by decree select his replacement atop the 2024 ticket. 

You can read the full letter at the link. The first half of it is completely self-congratulatory, with Biden still claiming that his presidency has been a smashing success, with a great economy and the rest of the malarkey that we regularly hear from him, his supporters, and his willing scribes in the media. (Until recently, anyway.) He takes no responsibility for anything and really doesn't even admit that he is cognitively diminished. He simply says that this decision is "in the best interest of my party and the country."

This will, of course, change nothing for America's prospects in the short term. America will still be run by Jill and Joe Biden and his handlers until January. But it's going to throw the presidential election into a tailspin, particularly since the decision is coming so close to the Democratic convention. We're in uncharted territory here as we have discussed previously. Many in Joe's party, including some very senior leaders, are not thrilled with the idea of replacing Biden with Kamala Harris. If anything, she polls even worse than Joe for understandable reasons. But she is the only one who can access Biden's campaign coffers.

The polling could conceivably shift, however. Asking respondents about a hypothetical Harris candidacy may deliver different results than a Harris candidacy when Kamala is actually on the ticket. The Democrats are also no doubt hoping that having Harris in line to be the next president might shore up their support among Black voters, an area where Joe Biden has been bleeding out like the victim of a chainsaw accident.

Two questions in closing. Who might Harris pick as her running mate and how might she fare in a debate against Donald Trump? I doubt Trump is worried, but she couldn't possibly do any worse than Biden did in the first debate... could she? Again, we're heading into uncharted territory here. As a wise person once said long ago... may you live to see interesting times. There's a reason he meant that as a curse. The interesting times have arrived.

DAVID ADDS: Did Biden endorse Harris out of loyalty to her, belief in her competence, or to screw over the people who pushed him out? It's an interesting question, and none of us is a mind reader. We have no idea how Biden stepping out will shape the race--how could we at this point?--but Harris doesn't stack up well against Trump. 

On the other hand, the Democrats' best candidates are probably unacceptable to large parts of the party. 

Could Trump still lose? If the past 3 weeks have shown us, anything is possible. It has been a wild ride and fun to watch, at least. 

Joe Biden dropped out on National Ice Cream Day. Fate loves irony. pic.twitter.com/RBQEMEjAoi

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) July 21, 2024