The voices that finally convinced Biden to step aside

The debate's aftermath ended Joe Biden's presidential candidacy in three weeks. The President announced his endorsement of Kamala Harris.

Most elected officials and aides anonymously shared their concerns with the media. However, as days passed and the President held on, the voices calling for a new candidate became stronger.

For three weeks, Joe Biden and his close allies refused to accept the concerns of elected Democrats and major liberal voices. But who finally convinced the President to step aside?

The President lost the confidence of strong liberal voices in the media first. That included former Obama administration officials like Van Jones, David Axelrod, and Jon Favreau.

Joe Scarborough (MSNBC) said he should consider a different candidate. Scarborough is one of the media voices President Biden trusts the most.

New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman, who is also close to President Biden, asked him to prioritize the country's future over his ambitions in an article that came hours before a piece by the newspaper's editorial board asking for the same.

The host of ABC News, George Stephanopoulos, who interviewed the President, later said that he didn't believe Joe Biden could serve four more years without knowing he was being recorded.

Still, as the President's team shielded him from any media concern, other voices started to rise. Lawmakers and prominent liberal leaders joined the media on its concerns.

Texas Representative Lloyd Doggett was the first House member to bluntly ask the President to withdraw from the race through a public statement.

According to AP News, in the weeks after Doggett published his statement, around two dozen lawmakers publicly requested President Biden to step aside.

Some House members who spoke out represent crucial swing districts. Senators did the same, many of them fearing that the debate's aftermath could also affect Congressional races.

George Clooney, the campaign's largest fundraiser, asked the President the same. In a NY Times opinion essay, the actor said he witnessed the President's decline during a fundraiser.

However, none of those voices seemed to worry President Biden. His team insisted he would remain in the race and beat Donald Trump despite polls showing the opposite. Then, the voices started to come from higher places.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made some soft comments in public. Still, according to AP News, the congresswoman told the President privately that if he continued, the Democrats could lose their chance to control the House.

The news agency also said former President Barak Obama said to allies that President Biden needed to consider the viability of his campaign and make a decision.

A couple of days before President Biden withdrew his candidacy, ABC News reported that Senator Chuck Schumer, the majority leader, talked with him privately about his concerns.

The news outlet also said that the House Democrats leader, Hakeem Jeffries, had discussed his views privately with the President and asked him to step aside.

According to The New York Times, the four leaders, Pelosi, Schumer, Jeffries, and Obama, thanked the President for his service and praised his decision but did not endorse Kamala Harris as he did.

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