OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
Editor’s note: An original version of this story mistakenly included a headline that may have misled readers. Neither Joe Biden nor Donald Trump have dropped out of the 2024 presidential race, as noted by PolitiFact. We have updated our headlines to better reflect that. We regret the error.
Marianne Williamson has suspended her 2024 presidential campaign, leaving President Joe Biden with one challenger in the Democratic primary
In a video uploaded to social media, the 71-year-old author declared, “It’s time to pause my presidential campaign. We did what we could to shed some light in some very darkened times. For that, I will always be so grateful.”
Rep. Dean Phillips, who is Biden’s sole challenger in the Democratic primary, responded on X, formerly known as Twitter, by saying: “Marianne Williamson is a woman of courage, strength, and compassion for the country who has been grossly mistreated by a system designed to do just that. It has been an honor to run with her, and I will tenaciously uphold our common ideals. Marianne, we are so grateful for you. This is not finished.”
Williamson and Phillips squared off in a New Hampshire debate on January 8 in the hopes of winning without Biden, who declined to participate in the state’s Democratic primary. However, Democrats pulled off a successful write-in campaign on Biden’s behalf and gave him the win.
Williamson also participated in the 2020 Democratic primary but was unable to meet the requirements for fundraising and polling for all but the first debate, so she withdrew from the race and fired her entire staff.
She experienced issues with her campaign this cycle as well, going through three different campaign managers during her brief run. Her most recent campaign manager, Carlos Cardona, left her campaign the day after the New Hampshire primary, according to CBS News.
🚨BREAKING: DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE MARIANNE WILLIAMSON SUSPENDS PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN
Source: BNO News pic.twitter.com/Q2KYmj4MIl
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) February 8, 2024
BREAKING: Marianne Williamson suspends her presidential campaign, ending long-shot primary challenge to Biden https://t.co/jBUbbWJj0F
— The Associated Press (@AP) February 8, 2024
Earlier this week, former President Donald Trump called out Biden and demanded an immediate debate, saying that it is “for the good of the country.”
During an interview with Dan Bongino for his radio show, the former president said that he did not think Biden would remain in the race but called on him to debate “immediately.”
“And I don’t think he’s going to run. I don’t know if it’s donors or otherwise. It might be his family. It might be something,” Trump said. “I don’t think he’s gonna run, but I’d like to call for, immediately, debates. I’d like to debate him now because we should debate. We should debate for the good of the country. So I will officially go on your show call.”
“Oh, wow! Look at that! We’re breaking news: Mr. President Donald J. Trump calls for debates against Joe Biden. I mean, that’s great. We’re breaking some news here!” Bongino said in response.
“I am officially doing that. I also put out, you probably noticed, that I’ll take his spot at the Super Bowl if they want. We’ll get very good ratings,” Trump added.
Biden was asked about debating Trump, which he simply laughed off without a commitment.
Democrats and left-wing activists on social media celebrated what they claimed was a ‘blow-out’ victory by Biden during last week’s Democratic primary in South Carolina, the first in the nation, but there is more to the story.
While it’s true that Biden won with roughly 96 percent of the vote, WMBF reported that voter turnout across the state was anemic at less than 5 percent.
“In total, South Carolina saw 131,870 ballots cast for the 2024 primary out of just over 3.2 million registered voters – which accounts for just 4.09 percent,” the outlet noted. “Just three counties, Orangeburg, Lee, and Williamsburg, each saw turnout rates higher than 10%.”
That’s hardly a resounding vote of confidence.
The decline in numbers occurred as Democratic Party leaders advocated for South Carolina to be the first state in the nation’s primary schedule, but it ended up being the second Democratic primary after New Hampshire. Nevertheless, it was the first primary to include Biden as a candidate on the ballot, as he had won as a write-in candidate in New Hampshire.
Meanwhile, concerns over Biden’s declining mental capacity continue to grow, especially after the White House announced that the president would skip the pre-game Super Bowl interview for the second year in a row, despite this being an election year.
