Joe Biden has led the U.S. presidential election into uncharted waters with his decision to withdraw from the race, a move unprecedented in modern American politics. The 81-year-old became the first president in over half a century not to seek re-election, stepping down on Sunday and endorsing 59-year-old Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic candidate to face Donald Trump in the November election.

In addition to other factors, the transfer of power to Kamala Harris is a $96 million bet that she can energize the campaign in the shortest presidential race in history.

Joe Biden promised in 2020 that he would be a candidate for only one term—before making a 180° turn once in power. Facing increasing doubt and concern about his advanced age, he was eventually forced to keep his promise four years later. Even back in 2020, Joe Biden faced ongoing challenges due to his age. During a fundraising event, the Democrat assured that he saw himself as a "transitional" candidate: "There is a whole generation of leaders lined up behind me. They are the future of the country," he assured. This statement was immediately interpreted as a commitment that he would serve only one term. On January 20, 2021, while the Capitol had not yet fully recovered from the violent attack by Donald Trump's fervent supporters, he became the oldest U.S. president to be sworn in. During the first 18 months of his presidency, he managed to approve a series of investment plans to combat climate change and improve dilapidated infrastructure. At the same time, he continuously warned against the danger that Donald Trump posed to democracy. However, the Democratic president had weak popularity, foreshadowing disaster in the midterm congressional elections.

But nothing of the sort happened. Democrats maintained control of the Senate, a heavy blow for the Republican party, which was now fully controlled by Donald Trump—who, despite the much-anticipated "red wave" never materializing, quickly announced his candidacy for the presidency once more.

Putting aside doubts about his age, Democrats began to see Joe Biden as the best option for victory. At their convention in Philadelphia in February 2023, Democrats welcomed him to the stage with chants of "Four more years! Four more years!". His candidacy was considered a given.

On April 25, 2023, with a tweet, Joe Biden announced that he would be "running for re-election", emphasizing the ongoing battle for "freedom" and "democracy". "Let's finish the job," he proclaimed, choosing his vice president, Kamala Harris, as his running mate. However, Joe Biden ran a rather low-intensity campaign, often interrupted by weekends at his Delaware home.

The absolute disaster came on June 27 with the Biden-Trump debate on CNN, the first and, as it turned out, last televised debate. In the studio, the Democratic candidate appeared confused, slurred his words, got mixed up, while Donald Trump lied one after another, launched attack after attack, methodically, with an air of confidence.

Before the show was even over, a tsunami of anonymous messages from panicked Democrats flooded the press. They called on the president to withdraw, to avoid disaster against the Republicans in November.

Later, in North Carolina, addressing party supporters, Joe Biden assured that he "could do the job". But among the wealthy donors of the party, doubt spread and escalated: what if the president is not able to govern the country for the next four years?

Nancy Pelosi, the former Speaker of the House, who still holds significant influence in her party, acknowledged that it was "legitimate" to express concerns about the president's health condition. Then, the first Democratic congressman called on the head of state to step down. A second followed 24 hours later. Others, for the first time publicly, expressed strong reservations about the president's age.

The calls for him to step down, which multiplied, seemed to die down briefly after the assassination attempt on Donald Trump. They quickly resumed; overall, some 35 lawmakers from the party, of all factions, urged him to end his campaign. Finally, Joe Biden's announcement came yesterday.

The Democratic fundraising organization ActBlue announced last night (local time; early this morning on Greek time) that it recorded the highest amount secured in a single day ahead of the U.S. presidential election on November 5, after President Joe Biden announced his withdrawal from the race and endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the party's candidate.

"As of 9:00 PM (local time; 4:00 AM today Greek time), the party's base had raised $50 million through ActBlue after the start of Vice President Kamala Harris's campaign. This is the highest amount raised in one day in the 2024 (campaign) cycle," the organization, which raises funds online for Democratic candidates, assured via X.

It is clear that Biden's move to step down unleashes substantial financial support that had been frozen in recent weeks. Vice President Kamala Harris spoke with the two top Democratic leaders in Congress on Sunday afternoon, according to sources familiar with their conversations, as she tries to unite the party behind her candidacy. Neither Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer nor Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have endorsed her candidacy, but many other senior elected Democrats have, and no elected Democrat has yet challenged her.