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Biden Exits 2024 Race, Endorses Kamala Harris; Dem State Party Chairs "Overwhelmingly Uniting" Behind Harris; Majority of Democrats in the Senate Endorse Harris; Trump Campaign Slams Harris, But is Reportedly Concerned. GOP Reacts to Biden's Decision to Drop Out of Presidential Race; World Leaders React to Biden's 2024 Presidential Race Exit; DNC Nomination Process. Aired 1-2am ET

Aired July 22, 2024 - 01:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[00:00:32]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and a warm welcome to our viewers joining us all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes. Appreciate your company.

Well, one story dominating all others this hour a seismic shift in the race for the White House after President Joe Biden's stunning decision to end his campaign. The move following increasing pressure from inside Mr. Biden's own party to step aside in the weeks following his dismal performance in the presidential debate.

A source says plans for President Biden to exit the race was set into motion Saturday night and finalized on Sunday. We've learned that information given to Biden by his closest advisors underscored that the path to victory was basically non-existent.

In a letter posted to his official account on "X." Mr. Biden said, quote, "It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," unquote.

The President went on to offer his full support and endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris to be the democratic nominee this November. And he urged Democrats to unite behind her.

In her own statement, Harris thanked Mr. Biden for his extraordinary leadership as she put it and decades of service to the country. She went on to say she was, quote, "honored to have the President's endorsement." And that it was her intention to, quoting again, "earn and win this nomination."

Now in the hours since the announcement, we've seen an outpouring of support for the Vice President including from donors who say they're reinvigorated and ready to put their money behind Harris. And already we've seen donations pour in. ActBlue says, "small donors have helped raise more than $46 million since Harris launched her campaign." That's in a matter of hours. The group says it is the biggest fundraising day of the 2024 cycle.

CNN's Jeff Zeleny is following all the developments. He has the latest for us from Washington.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: The Vice President Kamala Harris receiving support from across the democratic party for her to replace President Biden on the democratic ticket.

In the wake of that bombshell announcement on Sunday, the Vice President moving quickly reaching out to senators, other lawmakers, state officials as well, asking them for her support.

Now, she said in a statement that she intends to fight for this nomination. It certainly is not a done deal. However, the breadth of governors and senators and House members, including some governors who could be on her shortlist for a running mate, like potentially Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Arizona Senator Mark Kelly, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper. The list goes on all through their names to support her candidacy, as did California Governor Gavin Newsom. Of course, he is a longtime potential rival of hers, but he certainly said he supports Harris.

So state delegations also weighing in from Tennessee, from South Carolina. So time is running short for her to choose a running mate. It's a compressed primary schedule, if you will. The voting for her, if she becomes the nominee and a running mate, would be between August 1st and August 7th. So around two weeks or so to get this worked out.

Now, there is no question there is still a bit of time for some Democrat to step forward in challenging her. But on Sunday evening, there is no question that Democrats are rallying behind her. This has been a contingency plan in the works, and she set it into motion with President Biden's decision.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Donald Trump, perhaps predictably slamming Joe Biden on social media, posting this Sunday, quote, "Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for president and is certainly not fit to serve and never was. He only attained the position of president by lies, fake news and not leaving his basement."

Trump goes on to say, quote, "All those around him, including his doctor and the media, knew he wasn't capable of being president and he wasn't."

Well, joining me now from Los Angeles is CNN Senior Political Analyst Ron Brownstein. He is also a Senior Editor at "The Atlantic." Good to see you, Ron. Well, what a day. I mean, so -- so Biden

endorsing Harris, but does that make her a lock to replace him? Even she's saying she's going to have to earn and win the nomination.

[01:05:09]

You've got senior -- a couple of senior party figures like Barack Obama, not straight out endorsing her. Some others want an open process. Is there a battle ahead for the job or not likely?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think unlikely. Let history record 12:41 a.m. Eastern this morning, the first press release from the Harris for president campaign landed in people's inboxes, including mine. And it was a formidable list of governors and senators who have endorsed her.

I mean, Democratic Party has just gone through a very traumatic episode of nudging aside a President who they respect, who they think has been more successful than many

expected, but whom, you know, the vast majority of them had come to believe cannot win and did not feel comfortable about renominating him for four more years.

After going through all of that, it's just hard to imagine there is the stomach for a full-fledged second fight to bypass her, especially with the candidates who might have the best chance and be considered the most viable alternatives, like Gretchen Whitmer and Gavin Newsom already indicating they won't run against Vice President Harris.

HOLMES: Yeah. What -- what are her chances, do you think, against Trump, you know, versus Biden's chances?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, I think, you know, the most common phrase I've heard is lower ceiling, higher floor, right? You know, with -- with Biden, opinions were pretty much set. His approval rating has been stuck at 40% or below for over a year. Two-thirds or more of people have said they think he's too old to do the job for another four years. Really telling was that all year they have been on the air virtually unrebutted in all of the swing states. And he was trailing, still trailing after all of that, still trailing Trump. And his approval rating was no better than it was nationally.

Harris offers the opportunity for a burst of energy. She can deliver the Democratic case against Trump more vigorously and more cogently. Obviously, she's going to unlock a lot of fundraising. If you look at it demographically, she has the potential to improve upon Biden's biggest problem, which is that he's eroded since 2020 among younger and nonwhite voters.

But she does risk some retreat among what has been, I think, his most surprising asset, which is that even amid all of his other problems, his vote is held up among older and blue-collar whites. Can she put the Sun Belt swing states back in play? North Carolina, Georgia, Arizona and Nevada.

If not, she will have the same narrow path that he does going through Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. And those states don't seem to be intrinsically easier for her than they were for Biden.

HOLMES: So how do you expect Republicans to pivot their strategy now? I mean, it certainly throws a spanner in the messaging of Biden's age and mental acuity. Now he's not the candidate anymore. Kamala Harris is 20 years younger than Trump.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Yeah. Suddenly she -- you know, suddenly he's the old guy.

HOLMES: Yeah.

BROWNSTEIN: You know, we haven't really paid much attention to it because of all the concerns about Biden's capacity. But roughly half of voters consistently say they doubt Trump has the mental acuity to be president himself. They don't doubt his physical strength.

But like in a CBS poll just last week, 50% were saying, you know -- and when they watch things like him confusing Nikki Haley and Nancy Pelosi and all the strange tangents at -- at his events.

Look, I think Harris has to carry all the same crosses that Biden did in terms of voter discontent on their record about inflation. And they're also going to try to -- with their roots in San Francisco and California as some kind of woke liberal.

The reality is, I think, you know, I've talked to a number of people who have studied her image with voters. And the answer is, is that it's surprisingly unformed. It's really pretty shallow, even though she's been in office for three and a half years. And that means we're in a race --

HOLMES: Yeah.

BROWNSTEIN: -- to see whether Republicans can tag her with the negative images they want or the Democrats can put some of the positives that they want there, particularly her work defending rights centered on abortion.

HOLMES: And -- and how important is who she picks as her running mate? And who do you think, you know, a good candidate for that? We're looking at a blue wall governor.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, I mean, that like the most, you know, the most traditional thing to do would be to balance the ticket with a white male elected official from a key swing state. And, you know, that list would probably be centered on Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania. Mark Kelly, the senator from Arizona. Roy Cooper, the governor of North Carolina. With Shapiro having the edge because Pennsylvania is the most indispensable of those three.

The other option is what Clinton did when he picked Al Gore in 1992. Instead of having the ticket balanced with an older Washington hand, he picked -- he doubled down. He picked someone who was a reflection of him, a younger centrist baby boomer.

And the analogy here would be to pick Gretchen Whitmer to create a high risk, potentially high reward all female ticket, which would certainly generate a lot of excitement, you know, carries obvious risks. But she also would help to bring a key swing state across the former blue wall of Michigan.

[01:10:20]

So that really are the two paths. Balance the ticket or double down. Most people think she'll balance the ticket. If she does, I think Shapiro is the -- would be the front runner. But there's a lot of interest in the party in kind of taking the leap. You know, you can't leap halfway across a chasm, right, Michael.

HOLMES: Yeah.

BROWNSTEIN: And by going from Biden to Harris, Democrats have already taken a leap from kind of the safe shore. And that would argue for really just kind of doubling down on the -- on the strategy and going to -- going to Whitmer.

HOLMES: Now, that would be something Whitmer, that -- that -- that would be something to women that would be making history all over the place there.

Ron, always -- you've had a busy day again. Every time I talk to you, something's happening. Thanks, Ron. Appreciate it. Ron Brownstein.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me, Michael.

HOLMES: Now, while Barack and Michelle Obama, as we just said, haven't officially endorsed Kamala Harris as of yet, they did release a statement praising Joe Biden, calling him a patriot of the highest order. I want to read some of it to you now.

They say, "We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges."

And Senator Chris Coons, a close ally of Biden, agrees.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHRIS COONS, (D-DE): I think today we should focus on Joe Biden's incredible legacy of service to our nation, his selflessness, his accomplishments in his decades in the Senate, leading the Judiciary Committee and Foreign Relations Committee as vice president and now leading the Biden Harris administration. It bears repeating that together, Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and the majority in the Senate and House managed to put into law earth-shaking, historic pieces of legislation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: CNN Senior Political Commentator Van Jones joins me now. He's also a former Obama administration official. It's been a busy day for you, Van. It's been a difficult day for a lot

of Democrats who wanted Joe Biden to continue on. And I know for you, I was watching you early in the day. It's been particularly poignant.

You described it as like taking the car keys from your grandpa. And then when you get them, you just cry. I think that's what you said. How difficult would this decision have been for Joe Biden?

VAN JONES, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, first of all, toughest decision you can ever make. You know, most of us don't get anywhere near to that level of power. And you can't imagine the amount of selflessness, the amount of courage. His coalition was falling apart around him. That's true. But if he had decided to soldier on, he had the delegates, he could have stayed in it as a nominee.

This is one of the most selfless acts, one of the most courageous acts. And it's heartbreaking. I personally know the guy. He picked me out of the puppy pile. I was nobody. I was just a young activist. He saw something in me and gave me an opportunity to be a part of the first black presidential administration ever. And I love the guy. But he just was not going to be able to prevail against Donald Trump. And he did the right thing.

HOLMES: Yeah. Do you expect Kamala Harris to be the new candidate? I mean, there's talk on some levels of having some sort of open process, open the selection, that anointing a successor is risky. Can you see any of that happening or more likely a push for unity?

JONES: Listen, she is wrapping this thing up quickly. She and her supporters are demonstrating a level of political skill and prowess that is really breathtaking. We have a big, big party. We have rules to make rules on top of our rules, which are wrapped up in rules. It's a very bureaucratic party. She is rolling through this party like rolling thunder.

And that level of political acumen is something I think a lot of people, including myself, have been stunned by. But she has all 50 state chairs already. She's got 25 senators already.

She has the Clintons already. She has Joe Biden already. The only people standing back now -- most of her rivals have already endorsed her. The only people standing back, the Obamas are standing back. Pelosi is standing back. Some of the Democratic leadership is standing back.

But it's not like they've endorsed someone else. And no one has yet raised their hand or their pinky to say they want to stop Kamala Harris. So she's gone from being a quite marginal figure in the Biden administration to being a juggernaut in 12 hours.

HOLMES: Yeah. And how do you think she will do against Donald Trump if she is the nominee? And it looks that way, of course. This is a massive moment for the party, if not the country as well. Do you think she will do well?

[01:15:12] JONES: Look, if you had asked me a month ago, what if you put Kamala Harris up against Donald Trump? I'd say, well, what if you put a stick of butter up against a chainsaw? I would have said that Donald Trump was just going to destroy her. I mean, he's a phenomenon.

And, you know, a month ago, she was not a particularly popular or beloved figure, even in her own party, with very low polling numbers and attached to an unpopular administration.

What I've seen this past 12 hours has shown me something, which is that I think for Democrats, we spent three weeks sitting outside the ICU, which is where people are very, very sick in our American hospitals, looking at American democracy. It was a death watch.

And for three weeks, we thought Donald Trump was going to be president of the United States. And it scared Americans. It scared Democrats. It scared progressives.

And so, suddenly, to have just a gasp of hope, one little heartbeat of hope, and suddenly you're seeing a huge surge of energy and support for Kamala Harris.

There was a phone call for Black women, a win with Black women, that was supposed to have 1,000 people on it. 34,000 people got on the phone call to support Kamala Harris. That's just unheard of. ActBlue raised $50 million today. There is just a surge of energy behind her.

Now, does that translate beyond the base? What does that mean in the swing states? I don't know. But I'm watching a rocket take off that nobody saw coming. And how far that rocket goes, I don't know. But if I were Donald Trump, I'd be very, very nervous.

HOLMES: Yeah, and to that point, Republicans, you know, they have their Harris talking points well formed, their criticism of her they have for some time. But does that hurt her or perhaps help her? I mean, most of those talking points are well known. So there's few surprises. She's well vetted. Is it fair to say that?

JONES: Kamala Harris has a much lower potential floor than Joe Biden. You kind of know what the Joe Biden voter kind of looks like. But she's got a much potential, much higher ceiling in that all the bad stuff about Kamala Harris you already know.

You already know that she sometimes laughs in a weird way. You already know that she was assigned the border and didn't do a great job. You already know the bad stuff.

But there's good stuff that you've never heard about Kamala Harris. People have worked for her. There's never been an ad put out saying, here's all the good stuff that Kamala Harris has done.

Here's a role that she was playing behind the scenes when it comes to foreign policy, when it comes to national security. And there's a way they reintroduce her in a way that's sort of like now it can be told. She was doing this behind the scenes. She's doing that behind the scenes. And the Trump administration is going to have a hard time figuring out

what to do with all this new good news about Kamala Harris. The Trump campaign is not happy tonight. The reason that they did not make a big deal, they never ran any ads against Joe Biden showing his debate performance, his debate debacle, was because they were afraid of pushing him out of the race. They wanted to run against Joe Biden. They wanted to run against an impaired older man.

They did not want to have to run against a young, vigorous woman who is a prosecutor, who knows how to throw a punch, who knows how to take a punch, who can go all over this country, who can excite a grassroots base. They didn't want this. They pretend they've got the answers, but the answers that they have answer a caricature and not a candidate. Now they've got to deal with a candidate.

HOLMES: Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that whole age thing is flipped on its head now. She's 20 years younger than Trump. So it's going to be interesting to see how that plays out.

Van, you've had a heck of a day. I really appreciate you making the time, Van Jones.

JONES: Honored to be here. Thank you so much.

HOLMES: Well, support for Kamala Harris starting to pour in, as we were just discussing. But she's working hard behind the scenes to secure as many endorsements as possible. Our breaking news coverage continues after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:21:25]

HOLMES: All right, more details on our top story this hour. U.S. President Joe Biden officially ending his reelection campaign just hours ago and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him.

And now top Democratic Party officials are analyzing the impact Harris might have down ticket on other candidates if she does become the party's nominee.

Several Democrats telling CNN she could help reenergize the base, especially the young and minority voters. A source saying Vice President Harris is already working the phones, calling lawmakers and delegates to shore up support for her candidacy. She had a list of about 200 calls to make on Sunday alone, including with the heads of the Congressional Black Caucus and Hispanic Caucus.

Several Democratic leaders are already speaking out in support of Kamala Harris. That includes Congressman Ted Lieu from her home state of California. He became the first member of the House Democratic leadership to endorse Vice President Harris, writing on "X" that he's honored to back her again after endorsing her in the 2020 race.

Another California lawmaker, Congressman Eric Swalwell, told CNN earlier that Harris is the right candidate to take on Donald Trump. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. ERIC SWALWELL (D-CA): I fully support Kamala Harris. And in fact, she's been trained by the best. Joe Biden was a vice president himself. And so she probably had the best mentor to work under. And she's tough. She's smart. She's real. And she's everything that we need as we go up against somebody who would take away every freedom.

You know, Trump's Project 2025 would end abortion, force people into marriages. It would ban books and just be an all-out assault on our freedoms. And this Vice President, as I said, she's tough. She's real. She's smart. And she's got what it takes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Publicly, Donald Trump's team has said they hope Harris is the Democratic nominee. But privately, there is said to be concern about facing her or any other potential candidate other than Joe Biden.

Trump's co-campaign managers issuing this statement on Sunday, quote, "Kamala Harris is just as much of a joke as Biden is. Harris will be even worse for the people of our nation than Joe Biden. Harris has been the enabler in chief for Crooked Joe this entire time. They own each other's records. There is no distance between the two."

Now, Dan Morain has covered Kamala Harris for decades. He is, in fact, the author of a biography on Harris, "Kamala's Way: An American Life." You see it there on your screen. He joins me now from Davis, California.

As we said, Dan, you've studied her for years, literally wrote the book. What will Democrats be wanting the public, the voters to know about who Harris is and how qualified she is for the presidency?

DAN MORAIN, AUTHOR, "KAMALA'S WAY": Well, you know, she -- she is a formidable candidate. She ran for president in 2019 and for the 2020 Democratic nomination she didn't do well. But I covered her running for California attorney general in 2010 and reelection in 2014 and U.S. Senate in '20.

And she can be a very good candidate. I moderated her one debate when she ran for attorney general the first time against a formidable opponent, a guy who was the district attorney and the chief prosecutor in Los Angeles County, obviously the largest county in California. He should have won.

[01:25:14]

It was his -- his race to lose. She did really well in that debate. I covered the debate that she had when she ran for U.S. Senate. She's very good on her feet.

Now I know that the -- the people have been critical of her as vice president. It's not the Kamala Harris I came to cover in California.

HOLMES: On the flip side, then, what are Republicans going to pull not just from her time as VP, but her time in California as electoral ammunition? I mean, given your history of covering her, what political potholes does her early career have?

MORAIN: Well, you know, there are all sorts of things I suppose you can bring up about Kamala Harris, her background. I mean, certainly she'll be portrayed as a California liberal who's out of touch with the rest of the country.

But, you know, this is a woman who became a prosecutor and spent a lot of years in the courtroom putting criminals away. And her people committed serious crimes. You know, one crime were domestic violence where a guy scalped his girlfriend. I mean, good God.

She spent a lot of time going after sex traffickers. That's the sort of thing that is kind of hard to attack. Now, she opposed the death penalty that was used against her when she ran for attorney general in 2010.

And it was a very close race. I mean she -- you know, in fact, the night of the election night, the Republican, the LA DA, Steve Cooley, proclaimed that he had won. She ended up winning because of the late vote count that always happens in California.

HOLMES: Right.

MORAIN: I would say the death penalty really has a resonance today that it did 20, 30 years ago.

HOLMES: All right. Of course, she would be -- you know, were she to win, she'd be the first woman African-American, Asian-American president in U.S. history. How important is her own heritage to her and, you know, her identity and how that's shaped her views?

MORAIN: Well, you know, the book is called "Kamala's Way: An American Life," but really it could be called "The California Life" because she is a person who really -- I think, really only could have come from California. Her parents, her mom was an immigrant from -- from India. Her father, an immigrant from Jamaica. They met at -- that most California of institutions, the University of California at Berkeley. Got married. She was born in 1964, which is a year of real change in California and resistance to change.

So she is a daughter of California. She is a product of California, multicultural. Her parents were very liberal. So it was somewhat surprising that she would become a prosecutor, but that's what she became.

HOLMES: What will be her mindset, do you think? Is she -- from your reading of her, your knowledge of her, is she ready for the moment?

MORAIN: Well, you know, that's kind of the Harry Truman question, isn't it? So Harry Truman was Franklin Delano Roosevelt's Vice President. Nobody thought he was much of anything back then.

And Harry Truman became president and became one of the most consequential presidents in America. So we don't know. We're not going to know unless she becomes president what kind of job she will do.

I do know, though, that -- that people who have underestimated Kamala Harris, and they long have underestimated her. I mean, I've heard all this stuff about, you know, she laughs. Oh, my God, she laughs. She dances. Oh, my God. She dances.

You know, people who underestimate Kamala Harris end up losing. So, you know, she can be formidable, formidable person.

HOLMES: Yeah. Fascinating. The book is "Kamala's Way: An American Life." Dan Morain is the author.

I really appreciate you making the time. Thank you.

MORAIN: Thank you.

HOLMES: Well, reactions to President Biden's historic announcement pouring in from the Republican Party. When we come back, I'll speak with a longtime GOP strategist on where the party will go from here.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:32:26]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM with me, Michael Holmes. And thanks for doing so.

We continue to follow the breaking news in the U.S.

President Joe Biden shocking the country and completely reshaping the race for the White House with his announcement that he will not seek reelection. He says he is throwing his full support behind his vice president, Kamala Harris for the election this November.

The White House adamant that President Biden will finish his term in office, even though some Republicans argue if he's not fit to run again, then he should resign now even though his reasons for not running has nothing to do with mental acuity. They're about poll numbers.

The Republican National Committee the wasting no time slamming Democrats, calling them a party in decline and disarray.

Here is the Republican U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson reacting to President Biden's decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I mean, Joe Biden was chosen after a long small "d" democratic process by 14 million people emerging through that primary. It will be very interesting to see if the so-called party of democracy -- the Democrats -- go into a backroom somewhere and switch it out and put someone else at the top of the ticket. I mean, I think they've got legal hurdles in some of these states.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Democrats rejecting that argument outright.

CNN's Priscilla Alvarez has more from Delaware now where President Biden is still at home recovering from COVID after that stunning announcement.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Joe Biden on Sunday announcing that he is dropping out of the presidential race in what has been a remarkable development that will shake up the 2024 presidential election.

The president, up until this point, along with his top brass had remained defiant. He was going to stay in the race despite multiple calls from Democratic lawmakers, allies and donors, that he should drop out of the race.

But while self-isolating at his Delaware residence as he was recovering from COVID, he was also reflecting and deliberating. On Saturday evening, he summoned his top advisors to his Rehoboth home where they assessed the polling and discussed among themselves what Democratic lawmakers and allies had been saying.

And the president also consulted his family who have always been influential in any decision that he makes over the course of his political career.

[01:34:44]

ALVAREZ: Then on Sunday the president deciding to step out of the race and notifying his senior White House and campaign teams of the decision only minutes before putting out a letter to the public saying that while he was proud of his record and will continue to fulfill his duties as president, he will not seek reelection.

Only moments after that, the president endorsing his Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee and urging the party to come together.

Now sources tell CNN that the vice president did not know about the president's decision until Sunday, then the two spoke multiple times over the course of the day.

And now it has been a moment for the vice president to try to gain momentum as she called multiple Democratic lawmakers, governors, civil rights leaders, among others to get their endorsements, oftentimes telling them in their phone calls that she wants to earn the nomination and wants their support.

Now, the outstanding questions remain as to what this will look like and what the process will look like over the next few weeks when we're only on the cusps of the Democratic National Convention. And then two when the president will address the nation. He has been recovering from COVID and the White House doctor said, his symptoms are improving significantly.

In his letter, he said he would address the public but when he will do that remains to be seen.

Priscilla Alvarez, CNN -- traveling with the president.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: So what happens next?

Well, we've learned the Democratic Convention Rules Committee is set to meet Wednesday to discuss the framework for the nomination. Current Democratic Party rules suggest there are several steps that need to be taken to formally nominate the next candidate.

First, potential nominees will need to gain signatures from hundreds of delegates and be recognized as candidates. Next, more than 3,900 individual delegates and 747 superdelegates would be called upon to select the nominee.

The superdelegates may or may not take part in the first round of voting. If no candidate gets a majority voting continues in rounds.

When all the delegates are involved, the majority of the total delegate votes will win the nomination.

U.S. voters reacting to the news that President Biden has left the 2024 race and endorsed Kamala Harris for the nomination. Here's what people in Los Angeles were saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SUSAN ROSALES, LOS ANGELES RESIDENT: For me, it wasn't really unexpected because clearly there were all kinds of grumblings within the Democratic Party. And I think he probably was listening to a lot of different people and made an informed decision. And I think he's right.

IVY BURTON, SANTA MONICA RESIDENT: I was so happy when I heard it because I just don't think that he's up to it. So I was really excited to see that. But I'm a little worried that she can't win.

JEFF ADELMAN, LOS ANGELES RESIDENT: I personally would vote for Kamala.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why?

ADELMAN: I think she's has the experience, the knowledge. It would be great to see a female and a black woman as president. The country hasn't, you know, kind of elected one yet? I think she has everything that would make for a great president.

(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: Trump's running mate, Ohio Senator J.D. Vance says Harris lied about Biden's mental state, without evidence. He posted this on X quote, "Joe Biden has been the worst president in my lifetime, and Kamala Harris has been right there with him every step of the way. Over the last four years, she co-signed Biden's open border and green scam policies that drove up the cost of housing and groceries. She owns all of these failures and she lied for nearly four years about Biden's mental capacity, saddling the nation with a president who can't do the job."

He goes on to say, "President Trump and I are ready to save America whoever's at the top of the Democratic ticket. Bring it on." Well, here to give us some insight into the GOP'S reaction is Mike Madrid. He's a longtime Republican strategist and co-founder of The Lincoln Project. It's good to see you.

I mean, how does this change Republican strategy going forward? They already have well-rehearsed lines of attack for Kamala Harris. But how might they have to pivot their messaging? Because most people know that stuff.

MIKE MADRID, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Yes. That's exactly right. But also, keep in mind, I mean, there's been a lot of really good reporting from folks who have made it clear that Susan Wiles (ph) and Mr. LaCivita, the two co-campaign managers for the Trump campaign have been focused entirely on Biden to this point.

This pivot is not just as easy as coming up some new slogans and a couple of new attack lines. The entire frame of the campaign has to make an adjustment. So it's going to be significant. It's going to be serious.

I think you're seeing some of the reaction from the candidate from former president Trump that you just outlined here. This is very much a reset. This is going to be a much more challenging race than they anticipated.

[01:39:44]

MADRID: Candidly, I think the pick of J.D. Vance would not be happening now, if they knew -- if they knew earlier that President Biden would be stepping down. So again, a lot of considerations to go with 105 days left in this campaign.

HOLMES: That's interesting. Now as we were just saying, Republicans have seized on the chaos as you might expect. I mean saying that, you know, if the president is unable to run as a candidate now, he should step down as president when in fact he's almost certainly stepping down over polling and not mental acuity.

But is that argument rightly or wrongly likely to get any traction? What do you see as the tactics?

MADRID: No that's a great question. And it gets goes to the point earlier this is a campaign -- the Trump campaign is kind of floundering for a message right now. So it's immediately going to go into an attack mode as it should, as a professional advisor I'd be doing the same thing.

The challenge is, they don't have anything that's going to stick. So the next line of messaging you'll hear will be something like Kamala Harris knew, trying to hide the fact that Biden wasn't mentally capable to be president.

These are not going to be relevant for where voters have been saying they want to go. That doesn't mean the Trump campaign can't get its footing later. But for the moment it's clear, they were caught very, flat-footed by this decision. I think complete -- completely caught by surprise.

HOLMES: For the Democrats, I mean, is there time for the new candidate, whether it's Kamala Harris or someone else to get -- you know, to get ahead of steam over the next hundred days.

MADRID: Well, that's a great question too. And again, this is historic, not only in the type of change, but at the time of the change. We've never had a nominee selected by a major party this late in the process. And again, she hasn't been formally pick yet or nominated, but it seems all but -- all but certain at this point.

There is -- well, there does remain some upside for Kamala Harris. There's also very significant potential downsides. I think the elation that Democrats are starting to feel right now is really more a result of finally getting out of this three-week, almost month-long cycle of negative daily news for their nominee, and realizing that you know, the change we're not going to have to live with this anymore.

But that doesn't mean that there aren't very significant challenges facing Kamala Harris' campaign if she's the nominee.

HOLMES: Yes. Yes. Relief isn't -- I mean, Mike, I take your point. I mean, age has been such an issue in this election. Joe Biden, too old, but Donald Trump's nearly 80-years-old.

Harris isn't even 60 yet. So that argument is being turned upside down. Does that aspect have an impact? Trump's the old one.

MADRID: I think it's -- yes, it's a great question too. And I think it does. I'm going to tell you why.

The entire predicate of the Trump campaign was to talk about an older, senile, slowing, aging man. They've spent tens of millions of dollars driving that narrative.

Now, they have to own that same brand. They've been actually -- well, I think woke up today or will wake up tomorrow and realize everything that we've been doing to damage Biden now hurts us far more than the candidate we're likely to face.

So yes, it's a good question and yes, it will have an impact. And yes, it will be used by the Democrats to attack Trump and I think probably to great effect.

HOLMES: Yes. that's the, you know (ph) card in a way. You co-founded The Lincoln Project, which was started by moderate

Republicans appalled by Donald Trump, generally speaking, and have done some really biting advertisements about Donald Trump. Can you see more of those in the near future?

MADRID: Yes. No question. Just getting started. And again, there's a whole range of new attack lines that can be used.

Again, that's what I was kind of smiling a little bit to great effect. I think you've got to see that being used quite a bit, not just because it is an effective message that was being used obviously to great effect when it was Joe Biden.

But now Donald Trump now is the oldest nominee ever in history running for presidency of the United States. So yes, you're going to see a lot of those attack lines coming from various groups.

HOLMES: Well, they're always interesting to see, I must say.

Mike Madrid, a former -- co-founder of The Lincoln Project. Really appreciate you taking the time tonight.

MADRID: Thanks for having me.

HOLMES: Cheers.

Well, our breaking news coverage continues after the break.

We'll have more on how leaders around the world are reacting to President Joe Biden's exit from the 2024 presidential race.

[01:44:02]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. More on our breaking news coverage this hour.

U.S. President Joe Biden ending his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him.

And reaction from world leaders has been pouring in after Mr. Bidens historic announcement.

Let's go now live to Hong Kong where CNN's Kristie Lu Stout joins me. Good to see you, my friend.

How are world leaders reacting to this news?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Michael, there have been messages of support for the U.S. President Joe Biden. These messages have been pouring in after his stunning announcement that is he is exiting the presidential race and endorsing Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee.

We heard from the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who took to X to thank Biden and to say that the U.S. is a reliable partner, while also adding this. Let's bring it up for you on Twitter -- rather X. He says, quote, "His decision not to run again deserves respect."

We also heard from the British Prime Minister, who also says he respects Biden's decision.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine respects Biden's tough and strong decision. Zelenskyy also added this. Let's bring up his social media post for you saying, quote, "Ukraine is grateful to President Biden for his unwavering support for Ukraine's fight for freedom."

Look, under President Joe Biden, the United States has strengthened ties with allies around the world in Europe, but also here in Asia to counter a rising China. And as such, U.S. allies here in the region they have been weighing in, including the prime minister of Australia, who calls Biden, quote, "an honorable man of integrity".

And he had more words to say. Watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANTHONY ALBANESE, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: President Biden deserves today I think to be recognized for once again not putting himself forward first, but giving his first consideration to doing what he believes is in the interests of the United States of America as his -- as he has done his whole public life.

And I pay tribute to him today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: We also heard from other regional allies in the Asia-Pacific region, including South Korea and Japan. They said that they did not want to comment on domestic politics in the U.S. But these governments emphasize the need to work with the U.S.

Also, in the last hour or so, we heard from the president of the Philippines who says Biden's decision is a quote "demonstration of genuine statesmanship," while also adding this on social media, quote, this is what we heard from Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos, Jr. "We thank him for his constant and unwavering support for the Philippines in a delicate and difficult time."

Of course tensions continue to simmer between Manila and Beijing over China, its assertions of sovereignty and claims in the South China Sea. The United States has said that it stands with the Philippines.

And Michael, we are still awaiting response from China later in the day.

Back to you.

HOLMES: Yes. So how is Kamala Harris perceived internationally and particularly where you are in Asia.

STOUT: Yes, you know, she is not as well-known obviously as Joe Biden. She has not had a huge international portfolio as vice president, or earlier during her work as a prosecutor.

I mean, she is partly of South Asian descent. She has made as you so as vice president multiple trips here to the Asia-Pacific region.

[01:49:42]

STOUT: And her job has been to reinforce Biden's message on alliance- building and to reiterate America's commitment to the Asia-Pacific region especially in light of a rising China, a China that has been flexing its muscles economically and militarily.

Also wanted to add that earlier today, when he was reacting to the news of Biden's decision, the Australian Prime Minister Albanese called Kamala Harris, a quote, "good friend of Australia".

Back to you.

HOLMES: Yes. Fascinating.

Kristie, good to see you. Kristie Lu Stout there in Hong Kong for us.

STOUT: Thank you.

Now the Independent presidential candidate, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. praised President Biden's decision to drop out of the race and called on the Democratic Party to hold an open process to nominate his replacement. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., INDEPENDENT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to begin by commending President Biden for a career in public service, a long, long career and representing and serving our country and for his handling of the many difficulties and challenges, personal challenges and tragedy that he suffered during his life with so much admirable conduct.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Kennedy, a former Democrat, followed up with criticisms suggesting the nominating process had become elitist and unfair and implying that was why he quit the party.

He went on to blast both parties for being captured by corporate interests rather than representing the American public.

So what will the nomination process look like? A look at what it'll take to choose Joe Biden's replacement on the Democratic ballot.

Our breaking news coverage continues after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

REP. DEBBIE DINGELL (D-MI): It's Democrats that we have to unite each other coming out of the Democratic National Convention behind our ticket. Because we do know who the Republican nominee and his vice president are.

It's on all of us to unite and make sure that we are campaigning hard. To make sure we know and get elected the person that we have to get elected so that women still have the right to choose, so that we don't have people in office that think January 6 was ok.

And I could go through a long list of issues you will hear about between now and November.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Congresswoman Debbie Dingell there urging Democrats to come together hours after U.S. President Joe Biden announced he was dropping his reelection bid and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee for president.

The announcement came after weeks of pressure from fellow Democrats that started after Biden's dismal debate performance against Donald Trump. Mr. Biden says he believes it is in the best interest of his party and the country for him to stand down.

In a follow up post, he praised Harris and urged Democrats to unite behind her.

Meanwhile, Donald Trump, perhaps bizarrely accusing the Democratic Party of fraud. He posted this on his Truth Social account, quote "So we are forced to spend time and money on fighting Crooked Joe Biden. He polls badly after having a terrible debate and quits the race. Now, we have to start all over again."

[01:54:42]

HOLMES: "Shouldn't the Republican Party be reimbursed for fraud in that everybody around Joe, including his doctors and the fake news media, knew he was not capable of running for or being president. Just asking."

Well, Harris is pledging to quote, "earn and win" the Democratic nomination for president, but it might not be quite that simple.

Brian Todd looks now at what it will take to replace Biden on the ticket at this late stage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The process for replacing Joe Biden as the Democratic candidate is uncertain and somewhat messy.

It's likely too late for voters to have a chance to weigh in.

LARRY SABATO, UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA: The primaries are over, the caucuses are over, you can't redo the primaries or caucuses. You can't elect new delegates.

The Democratic Convention attention scheduled to begin August 19th could be a free-for-all or at least be full of intrigue (ph). Names of replacements could be put forward and the roughly 3,900 Democratic delegates from across the country could decide who to vote for as the nominee.

SABATO: Oh, it's up to the delegates. In the end, it's up to them.

TODD: President Biden won almost all of those 3,900 delegates in the primaries.

But does he have control over who they support if he's out of the race?

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, "THE NEW YORK TIMES": It's not like Joe Biden can say, ok, I'm stepping down. All of you delegates have signed on for me have to now support this other candidate.

But that's not how it works. Those delegates would essentially be free to move in the way they want.

TODD: Like the days of old, backroom deals and lobbying could prevail at the convention as potential nominees tried to convince the delegates to get behind them. In the end, how many of the 3,900 delegates would a candidate have to win at the convention to get the nomination?

ELAINE KAMARCK, MEMBER, DNC RULES AND BYLAWS COMMITTEE: Ultimately, they would have to convince somewhat somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000-plus Democratic delegates to vote for them on a roll call vote.

Todd: There are also additional so-called superdelegates, About 700 of them comprised of party insiders and elected officials who could also be allowed to join in the voting.

It all means a late start for any candidate including in the money race. If Vice President Kamala Harris won the nomination, she would presumably be able to use Biden's campaign war chest because her name is on all the filings. but any other candidate may have to raise their own money.

Brian Todd, CNN -- Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM, spending part of your day with me.

I'm Michael Holmes.

My friend and colleague Rosemary Church, picks it up. Our coverage coming up.

[01:57:13]

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