Anger and resignation: Inside Joe Biden's big decision

This morning, US President Joe Biden's senior staff were notified that he was stepping away from the 2024 race. Just a minute later, that message was made public.

It was never Biden's intention to leave the race: Up until he decided to step aside, he was all in.

His campaign was planning fundraisers and events and setting up travel over the next few weeks.

But even as Biden publicly dug in and insisting he was staying in the race, he was quietly reflecting on the disaster of the past few weeks, on the past three years of his presidency and on the scope of his half-century career in politics.

In the end, it was the president's decision alone and he made it quietly, from his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, sick with Covid-19, the first lady with him as he talked it through with a small circle of people who have been with him for decades.

This story is based on interviews with more than a dozen people familiar with the president's thinking over the past few weeks, days and hours as he made his decision. They spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to talk about private discussions.

It wasn't until Saturday evening (Delaware time) that Biden began to come to the conclusion that he would not run for reelection. He started writing a letter to the American people.

Biden had been off the campaign trail for a few days, isolated because of Covid-19, when it all started to deeply sink in — his worsening chances of being able to defeat Donald Trump with so much of his party in open rebellion, seeking to push him out of the race — not to mention the persistent voter concerns about his age that were only exacerbated by last month's catastrophic debate.

Biden was at his beach home with some of his and Jill Biden's closest aides: chief strategist Mike Donilon, counsellor to the president Steve Ricchetti, White House deputy chief of staff Annie Tomasini, and Anthony Bernal, senior adviser to the first lady.

By Sunday local time, his decision crystallised. He spoke multiple times with Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he would endorse. He informed White House chief of staff Jeff Zients, and his longtime aide and campaign chairwoman Jen O'Malley Dillon.

A small group of senior advisers from both the campaign and the White House were assembled for the call to relay Biden's decision, while his campaign staff released the social media announcement one minute later.

Just about a half-hour later came his public vote of support for Harris. It was a carefully choreographed strategy meant to give the president's initial statement full weight, and to put a period on the moment before launching forward into the next step.

Publicly and privately Biden was fighting to stay in the race.

He was working to convince voters that he was up for the task for another four years. He was frustrated by the Democrats coming out publicly against him, but even angrier about the leaks and anonymous sources relaying how even former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi were working to get him to drop out.

It looked like he'd won out a couple times; the chorus of naysayers seemed to die down.

He had some well-received speeches mixed with so-so TV interviews and a day featuring an extended news conference in which he displayed a nuanced grasp of policy but also committed a few gasp-inducing gaffes.

But the doubts didn't go away.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer eventually invited top Biden staff to a meeting on July 11 to talk about their concerns.

It didn't go well. Senators expressed their concerns, and almost none of them said they had confidence in the president. But even afterwards, Schumer was worried it wasn't getting to Biden.

Following the meeting, Schumer called Democratic House Leader Hakeem Jeffries, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Obama. Schumer decided that day to request a meeting with Biden.

At a July 13 meeting in Rehoboth, Schumer told Biden he was there out of love and affection. And he delivered a personal appeal focused on Biden's legacy, the country's future and the impact the top of the ticket could have on congressional races — and how that could potentially affect the Supreme Court. That same day came the attempted assassination of Donald Trump.

Schumer told the president he didn't expect him to make an immediate decision, but he hoped Biden would think about what he said, according to a person familiar with the conversation.

Biden responded, "I need another week," and the two men hugged.

It was full steam ahead until Biden pulled the emergency brake.

The president's small circle decided to post the statement on X, rather than let it leak out for days before he was prepared to address the nation, which he is expected to do sometime early this week.

Much of his campaign was blindsided, and it was clear by how little had changed after he dropped out. For hours after the announcement, Biden's campaign website reflected that he was still running and KamalaHarris.com still redirected to Biden's page.

After the public announcement, Zients held a senior staff call, sent out an email and spoke with Biden's cabinet.

The president was also making personal calls.

Vermont Senator Peter Welch, a Democrat who had called for Biden to bow out, was gardening with his wife when the news broke, and said he was momentarily "stunned". Senators texted each other questioning if it was really happening.

Biden for President was later formally changed to Harris for President.

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