‘A bolt out of the blue’: 5 Christian leaders react to Biden dropping out of presidential race

By Michael Gryboski, Mainline Church Editor Monday, July 22, 2024

President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on February 7, 2023, in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C. The speech marks Biden's first address to the new Republican-controlled House. He is also the first-ever president to deliver a State of the Union speech at 80 years of age. | Jacquelyn Martin-Pool/Getty Images

President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he would not seek reelection just weeks ahead of the Democratic National Convention. He became the first president to make such a decision while in office since Lyndon Baines Johnson in 1968.

In a statement posted to his X account on Sunday, Biden said he had “decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”

Biden went on to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination, claiming that his selecting her to be his running mate in 2020 was “the best decision I’ve made.”

Biden’s announcement has garnered a wide range of reactions from political and religious leaders from diverse ideological backgrounds, ranging from those focused on his legacy to those looking forward.

Here are five reactions from Christian leaders and activists to the news that Biden will not seek reelection several months after states held their primaries.