okay, that's fine. good evening once again, i'm stephanie ruhle and we are now 107 days away from the election. four weeks away from democratic national convention, and tonight, president joe biden is no longer in the running for a second term. biden has withdrawn from the 2024 presidential race. this afternoon, he released a statement saying the following, "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." biden endorses vice president kamala harris as his replacement at the top of the ticket, and she has officially filed with the federal election commission. according to actblue, $46.7 million in small donor donations were raised in the first five hours of the

official harris campaign. harris has also received an outpouring of support from democratic lawmakers. the trump team wasted no time when it came to weighing in on harris as a potential opponent. spokesperson jason miller spoke with our colleague, lester holt, earlier today. >> we are completely ready to go, this campaign is ready for anything that the democrats throw at us, and the thing that really stands out from the harris-biden administration is that kamala harris owns all of the failures over the past three and half years, whether it be the record-setting integration, the sky high inflation that is really crushing families all around our entire country. >> with that, let's bring in former senator claire mccaskill. new york times chief white house correspondent peter baker, and former rnc chairman and host of msnbc's the weekend , michael steele. peter, you have been covering this closely, and i know that some folks have been watching tv all day, some are just tuning it now. oh, looks like maybe i don't

have peter, so i'm going to start with michael. what is your reaction to this? >> well, you know, it is a mix of thoughts at one time. you know, i was not very happy with the way the process played itself out, i think i made that very clear over the last few weeks. but in the end, joe biden did the statesman thing, and he recognized whether it was looking at the data or just feeling the emotion of the country right now, the desire to actually avoid a catastrophe in the fall, and he stood up for the country. and i think he is rightly being applauded for that. and so now, we have it, and it was important, it was very important for joe biden to lead the country in that pivot by endorsing kamala harris, because there was a lot of pressure inside the democratic party from some folks i know and have talked to over the last few days that did not want

that pivot to occur. they wanted this process to be open for a whole lot of reasons , some genuine, some kind of bs. but nonetheless, they wanted the process open. the president, again, second statesman move, move the country towards -- and move this party in particular towards a direction, towards its future with kamala harris at the front of that. and i think that was an important step. and guess what's happened since then? the party has coalesced around her, five states now have decided to give all of their delegates to her. i suspect more will come. small dollar donors are saying yes with their checks. the question has remained, big dollar donors. those pesky little big dollar donors who think they really run the world or at least try to, what do they do next? how do the larger donors in the

party decide to move? and that, i think, is going to be an important break to fall into place for kamala over the next few days, but everything else, the first two steps of this president giving up power and then redirecting his party towards giving that power to kamala, very, very important. >> claire, those decisions from those big dollar donors, how much -- in their decision process, is it going to be who vice president kamala harris chooses as her running mate, how important is that? >> i am not sure that will make a huge amount of difference, i think she is going to choose someone who will be terrific, and frankly, i don't think it matters much what the big donors do. what you have seen is a huge outpouring of low dollar donations. that doesn't surprise me, because what you're seeing is first, an affirmation that yes,

they are excited about a different direction, but also respect for joe biden. and you know, it is really fascinating here, joe biden said, hey, i picked this woman to be there in case i wasn't going to be. and i haven't changed from that decision. after working with her closely for four years. the party leaders held back because i think they wanted to watch the natural coalescing around kamala harris. i have talked to some big donors today, they are excited. i think they are just as excited as the low dollar donors. i think the number now is up to close to $50 million in low dollar donations, just since 2:00 this afternoon. so, she is going to have the resources, she is going to have the unifying party behind her, and by the way, you didn't say my favorite part of jason miller's interview. my favorite part was where he

said what she was really going to struggle with is that she doesn't like plastic straws. and i'm going, really, this has been the party that is all about showerheads and toilets, and you know, and he wants to bring up plastic versus paper straws point i think they are grasping at straws over there right now. i think they're going to have trouble with the prosecutor and they have got the guy that is prosecuted. >> paper, plastic, and grasping. peter baker, i think we have you now. you know, all sorts of people have seen the headlines today, but many people are sitting down and digging in for the first time right now. give us a timeline. help us understand how president biden came to this decision and why did it happen today? >> yeah, obviously the timeline goes back 24 days to the debate, but in the last few days, you saw him begin to re-evaluate his decision to stay and to be

more open to the arguments that he was hearing. he was seen some really bad whole numbers. obviously, the donors was an issue, obviously the electoral map seemed to be shrinking for him, and i think it was really donning on him that this might not work out. just as importantly as the people who we are talking to were making the case that kamala harris could win, that has always been a doubt on his mind and on the minds of a lot of democrats, could she really carried through if she becomes the nominee? and polls showed she was doing pretty well, she was doing just as strongly as he was against him, in some cases a little bit better. i think that was an important thing for him. the third thing was that this was going to be a smooth transition. he did not want something messy or chaotic, he wanted it to be on his terms and his way. so last night, he called his friend, mike donlon, his aide and adviser for many, many decades, to come join him in rehobeth along with three other aides were there. to craft this letter. he couldn't go on camera

because he has covid and felt like his voice is still raspy and coughing. so, he issues the letter and then executed the plan they came up with this morning. >> claire, the fact that we saw all of this support, all of these other elected democrats come out aggressively in an incited manner today, does that make her the eventual nominee? >> absolutely. absolutely. first of all, no one has come forward to the day to say they are a challenger. by the way, they can. they have to get 300 signatures, there is a process here, the door is not slammed it shut to the democratic party. somebody who wants to go can give those signatures and present their case and try to get the votes from the delegates. but no one is -- all the people mentioned, almost every single one mentioned that might have been a potential candidate besides kamala harris has endorsed her. so, not only are you seeing the majority of united states senators and the majority of

the democratic governors, but you're seeing the majority of the delegates in a pretty quick order from the number of states that have already said we are all for kamala harris, i predict this thing will be over by wednesday. >> claire, i can hear just sort of an enthusiasm and an energy in your voice tonight, and it is sort of the same excitement i heard earlier today when i was talking to donors. help us understand, you know, you obviously are a huge supporter of president biden, you have worked with him, you are his span, you have been behind his campaign all this time, what is it tonight, what is it about this change that at least has you sounding so invigorated? >> well, you know, it is a change, and listen, don't get me wrong, this last three weeks has been really painful for the biden family, for president biden, for elected democrats across the country, it wasn't always pretty.

i know michael steele wanted it to be pretty, but us democrats, we don't always do it pretty. but people were honest about their concerns and spoke out, and eventually the data caught up with the president, and the fact that he has seen that the right thing to do for this country was to do this doesn't surprise me. i'm not thrilled about him being in this situation in the first place, but now, we can all kind of take a breath and move on and do what we are all united to do, and that is make sure that donald trump never steps but in the oval office again. >> michael, the trump campaign also told lester holt that there will be another debate. do you believe that? i mean, debating kamala harris is totally different. >> no. no. no. i put a pin in that already. look, trump has already indicated the slide back on the debate by tweeting out today

that he thinks that whoever the democrats pick, we won't do it on abc now, we should do it on fox news. hint, hint, that is going to be a point of contention. this is already been prearranged, pre-negotiated, the two debates were done. so yeah, i just don't see that happening and i think it is laughable. the people around donald trump know that that is a buzz saw and all kinds of dangerous weapons waiting for him at that podium. if he steps on the stage with kamala harris. i mean, people were sort of joking about the prosecutor and the felon. oh my gosh. there is a reason why -- there is a reason why people who are on trial for crimes typically don't testify. [ laughter ] so, this is not going to be testimony donald trump is going to want to give. >> fair point. >> but if he does -- if he

does, bring it. i have my popcorn, i will be ready. >> it will absolutely be must- see tv. peter, help us understand what happens to president biden's war chests, can kamala harris take it over? how does it work? >> her name is on the organization, it is the biden- harris ticket. all the filing papers and all that have her name on it. that gives her a head start right there. assuming there is not any real contest for the nomination, she inherits all this, you have already heard some of the biden campaign people tell their colleagues today they are planning to join, they are part of the harris campaign, they are moving just essentially, just changing the name at the top. they don't see a change except in who the candidate is. so, she basically inherits apparatus, she inherits that money, she starts off with a head of steam. no other candidate in the democratic nomination would have that ability, even if they

did win, they would then have to figure out some other legal way to use the apparatus that had been built for her and for biden to help them. so, she has that advantage. >> claire, you knew i was going to ask you about this, joe manchin, he is a former colleague of yours, know him very well, and not necessarily a surprise, but he is now floating his name as potentially running, what do you think? >> oh, joe. oh, joe, come on. you know, it's just so sad, really. listen, you know, he's my friend, but this is really dumb. he couldn't get 20 delegates at the democratic national convention. he would be as welcome, i think, in the democratic national convention right now as mitch mcconnell. and that would not be very welcome. so, i think joe, he has done some really good things, he has done some things that have really frustrated many democrats, i think it is time

for joe -- listen, joe, there is a world out here, you will be fine, trust me, it's great out here, you do not have an elected office to enjoy life, and i hope he does go on to enjoy his life, but i think he is going to be out of elected office. the other one point i wanted to make before we stopped, stephanie, is i wanted to make the point that all of the democratic senators running in battleground states are ahead right now. every single one of them are winning their bases. so, it's not the policies that are the problem. and i think now with a new candidate at the top, i think you're going to see that polling turnaround in those states. i hope in fairly short order, since we don't have much time. >> chairman steele, what is your take on joe manchin? >> oh, claire just summed it up for me. i think -- look, you know, political relevance is one of those things that is probably

one of the last things for a candidate and former elected official or an elected official about to be a former elected official to let go of. and joe mentioned, though, that there is no pathway for this, so why are you doing it? and why are you saying you're going to come back, since he left the democratic party, you are now going to come back in at this juncture and try to challenge kamala harris, seriously? you're going to do that to the sitting vice president after the president has now basically said this is his choice and the delegates are clearly lining up in that direction? so, then you have to ask yourself, what is it? is it ego or is there something else a little less spotty behind it? and you know, i think i like joe a lot, and i just think that this is not the best move for him right now. it's not a good move for the country. you know, i think people kind of know how i felt about the last three weeks of

distraction, i am about the game that is afoot and get your head in the game and to the game, and you know, we are at that point now where the democrats seem ready to do the game, so let's do the game and not add any more noise and be stupid about it. i think that whoever has an ear for joe, tell him to stand down. you know, it was a nice little moment, you had a moment on twitter, but this is serious business now, the country is at stake and we need everybody in the game because the object in front of us is a little bit immovable. and it is going to take all of us to move it out of the way. >> peter, let's talk about the running mate game for just a moment. i spent my afternoon talking to donors and they love throwing their wish list out there, whether it is roy cooper, andy, josh shapiro, wes moore, pete buttigieg, i even heard liz

cheney today, but those are donors in their dream lists. help us understand from your apartment who you really think is in the running, and we should note both roy cooper and anti-will be smiling on morning joe first thing tomorrow. >> i think both of those are real candidates for sure. i think that -- you know, i don't think that liz cheney is, as much as i think a lot of democrats admire her, i don't think that is a realistic possibility. i'm going to throw out a name that hasn't been mentioned, i would try perhaps bill mccray them, the general who led the osama bin laden raid, i've heard his name today. i have heard people close to paris that they thought that somebody unconventional like a military officer might be the way to go. so, they will look at a lot of different directions, but here's the problem, they don't have a lot of time. they don't have time to do vetting and interviews and a leisurely pace the way that you normally do, certainly the way that donald trump had a chance to do.

they're going to have to make up their minds relatively quickly. i know they haven't thinking about it. they couldn't admit that because she needed to stay completely well to joe biden, but they weren't able to start the structure she would normally do with lawyers and tax people and all that kind of thing. very abbreviated in terms of vetting and she is going to have to find somebody she feels comfortable with. now, she has been with roy cooper in the last week or so alone, she does seem to have a connection with him. that is one possibility. josh shapiro, obviously another. we will see. it has to be somebody who balances her out and appeals to people who might be turned off to her particularly in some of these midwestern states that are soaking in. >> i know i am out of time, but that did make me want to ask, does vice president harris, peter, have the infrastructure, have the machine around her now to go at this thing full steam ahead? >> i mean, she does, obviously, but she doesn't have a long- standing political group of her own, right? that is not something she brings to the table.

you know, she has been reputed to go burn for staff as we know, she has got a team that has been pretty stable for a while now, but she doesn't have a james carville or a david plouffe consiglio area in that sense, so she is going to be adopting a lot of bidens people. there are some frictions there, as we know there normally is, but she is going to be starting from scratch on a lot of these structural issues like vetting of a vice presidential running mate. >> all right, claire, michael, thank you all for starting us off. peter, you got your little late, which means i'm not letting you leave just yet. but when we return, we are going to go inside the reaction coming in at this hour from capitol hill and what happens next. congressman eric swalwell of california joins us, do not go anywhere. >> [ music ] and using the power of dell ai. preserving memories

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endorsements are piling up for vice president kamala harris, so let's turn now to democratic congressman eric swalwell of california who has just joined that list. congressman, thank you for being here, tell us your thoughts. >> my pleasure. first off, i hope you will allow me to share a story about joe biden as we kind of talk about his legacy today. >> please. >> well, steph, in 2019, with many other candidates, i was running for president and my daughter, right before the first debate, was hospitalized for rsv, something many parents go through, and the doctors put her on oxygen. and when something like that happens, you know, your heart just falls past your stomach into your feet. and i didn't know if i was even going to do the debate at all. and of course, i did, and at the debate, i had landed that pass the torch singer, which was a great singer because it was joe biden's many years

before, and at the commercial break, he walked over toward me and i thought, oh no. like he didn't like that too well. and he pulled me aside and said, that was a nice line, wise ass. and as if he could read my mind, he said, how is your daughter doing? and that is the joe that i know and there are millions of stories out there i know like that, and today, that joe did something that donald trump could never, ever do, he put his country first, and we should all be eternally grateful. >> well, i'm glad you took the time to share that. you also know the p hires quite well, you both represent the state of california. what do you think of her as the nominee to take on donald trump, who is a unique opponent, to put nicely. >> well, she is tough, she is

real, she is whip smart. she and i come from the same prosecutor's office, the alameda county district attorney's office, there is a lot of pride in that office tonight. she calls me up and asked me how our old office is doing and she just wants to know how her colleagues are doing and where they are going. but as i think back to like prosecutor, law, i think about what prosecutor -- donald trump is saying right now, he is saying he is going to easily beat her, and it reminds me and i want to remind him of other sexual predators who thought that they would beat her when she was a prosecutor. if you want to talk to any of them, you're going to have to go to a prison to get their side of the story. she put a lot of bad people away. from the worst she did as a prosecutor to protect our community to going after the banks during the financial crisis, and she is going to make this case for america and our freedom in the months ahead. >> what does it say about the

democratic party versus the republican party, even the reporting in the last few weeks? so many democrats currently in office, formerly in office surrounding joe biden, advising him, talking to him about the next right move, and juxtapose that with last week's rnc, where traditionally, you see all sorts of sort of the gop all-stars, former republicans who had been in office, none of them were on the stage. it was the trump family. how do you describe -- how do you compare those two very different parties in 2024? >> it's the difference between chaos and confidence. and by the way, not only was donald trump's vice president mike pence not there, most of his prior cabinet members were not there. and america has a choice. and the choices, you know, do you want to continue the work to grow our economy and protect our freedoms or do you want to

hire a 34 time convicted felon who has been judged a rapist, who has filed for bankruptcy, and had his friends violently stormed the last office he held. when you even say that out loud, it sounds crazy that that guy would even be applying for a job that anyone of us would be in any position to get him. >> what are your thoughts on your former colleague joe manchin? i shouldn't say former, not former yet, joe manchin, considering running for the democratic nomination? >> you know what, anyone can jump in, and kamala harris is in it to earn it and she is in it to win it, and i know she will. and we are focused on what we have to do in these months ahead. >> what are you hearing from other democratic colleagues? when the announcement crossed today, i want to know where you were, what you thought, and no doubt your phone was blowing up,

you and your colleagues texting each other feverishly, tell me what was going on. >> well, i was doing laundry as my wife was putting our two- year-old down, and she immediately realized that the day was going to change and all the plans we have were going to blow up, and she told me are you kidding me? i told her, but he is not running. she said it is always something with you and this job of yours. it wasn't a west wing episode, it was just a crazy sunday with three kids. but my colleagues, and most importantly my constituents, have been blowing me up. and the theme is universal. it is that they are all in. they want to know where do they go to knock on doors, where do they go to dig deep and make a contribution to this campaign? and they are ready, they know the job we have to do, they know the rights that are on the line if we don't do it, and we are going to do it. so, people are in this mind-set

of let's go win. >> well, i want you to know, this afternoon when your spouse or your kids looked at you like, ugh, not again, minded, too. congressman, always good to see you, thank you so much for joining us tonight, i appreciate it. >> my pleasure. >> kamala harris made history when she became the first black woman at first person of south asian descent to become vice president. in november, she can make history again. my colleague looks that exactly how she got here. >> reporter: all eyes are now turning to vice president kamala harris who has made history over and over again throughout her life. her biggest history making moment was when she was elected vice president in 2020. becoming the first woman and first black and first south asian person to hold that role. >> we believe that our country, all of us, will stand together for a better future.

>> reporter: before that, she had forged a path, shattering glass ceilings. in 2003, she served as district attorney of san francisco, becoming the first black woman and south asian american woman in california to hold that office. then seven years later, she made history again in the same way when she was elected attorney general of california. the role made her a rising star in the democratic party. in november 2016, harris became only the second african american woman ever to serve in the senate and the first indian american ever. >> mr. president, i rise to celebrate the anniversary of one of the most significant legislative achievements in american history, the passage of the patient protection and affordable care act. >> reporter: she was raised in california, the daughter of a jamaican father and indian mother who met as civil rights activists. she later attended howard university, a historically black college in washington, d.c. she went on to law school at the university of california, then she became a prosecutor, a role she says

helped her enact criminal justice reform from within the systems. she often worked on cases dealing with sexual violence. in 2020, she ran for president, hoping to become the black -- first black woman ever to become president. now she would try to forge that path again. >> she joins us now, peter baker is still with us. what have you heard from the campaign tonight? >> what i have heard from the campaign is that she is going to be forging ahead and really wanting to earn and really wanting to focus on the idea that she wants to earn this nomination and wants to win and the donald trump in november, and that means she is going to be crisscrossing the country, i'm told, going to different places, talking to americans, talking to voters directly. just this week, she has plans to be in milwaukee and indianapolis. that is sort of what we are hearing from the campaign, but i also have to tell you, i have been on the phone with a lot of kamala harris allies, people who have been quietly getting ready for this moment, and what they tell me is there have been

a long list of to-do's they have been ticking off, chief among them is who will be her potential vp? also, how to line up donors, because in the last few weeks, donations to the democratic party have plummeted, but also, how to forge her path to victory. of course with joe biden, he had a cat that looked at wisconsin and minnesota and michigan, and though states might still be important to her, but i am hearing from people that she is also looking at places like georgia and north carolina and really trying to energize and motivate african american voters in the south, because in this moment of significant history, with her poised to be the first black woman at the top of the ticket, there are a number of people that are just swelling with pride tonight. i have been talking to a number of voters who feel both relieved that democrats can get back in this fight and feel like they have a candidate who can really go toe to toe with donald trump, and also, a real sense of history here, a real sense of significance in the fact that she has broken and smashed glass ceiling after glass ceiling, and a number of people tell me republicans wanted to have a conversation about the next generation,

about sort of age, mental acuity, now we have a prosecutor who they say is going to prosecute the case against donald trump. >> yeah, it wasn't long ago, i remember nikki haley saying something like the party that breaks free, you know, from these chains of having an 80- year-old as a candidate will be the party to claim the white house. there is only going to be one party doing that this time around and it is the democrats. peter, what do we know about president biden's decision to immediately endorse harris? many people were surprised, you know, it took this long to get to the president to come to this point where he said he would step down, they were surprised that he immediately backed vp harris. they were excited, but surprised. >> yeah, i think they were a little bit, because we didn't know for sure that he was going to do that. he had expressed privately some hesitation about whether she could win, that was part of the argument that some of his allies were making as they solicited democratic support

for him staying in the race. you don't want him to go out, because then you would have kamala harris and she couldn't win the race, that was the argument that some of his supporters were making. he obviously, for a long time at least, shared at least some of that doubt. but in recent days, the polls have made clear that that isn't the case. they suggest she runs at least as strong against trump as he does, and in a couple polls, slightly stronger. that is before she has a chance to introduce yourself. so, what are her strengths right now? that generational argument you just made, that they cannot flip on the republicans. she is 59, donald trump is 78. she can turn the argument around and say he's the one who is too old, has cognitive issues, shouldn't be in the oval office when he is 82 years old. she also has the advantage of freshness and energy. a lot of the public has made very clear, they didn't want either of these two men. they were tired of them, they didn't like either one of them. even people from their own parties thought they were too old.

so, she has the advantage of being fresh, and with only 3 1/2 months until the election, that might not fizzle out quite as quickly. that doesn't mean she is going to win, she obviously has some disadvantages as well. she has to run a national campaign on her own, and that didn't work out so well for her in 2020 when she didn't even make it to the first boat. she has hopefully learn something in the last three years. she also has to worry about the issue, how does she play in states in the midwest, and i have heard people say, i can't vote for her, i might have voted for biden. so, she has to convince democrats and independents in the particular who voted for biden four years ago, that she does the same thing he did, which is to keep donald trump out of the oval office, and making it about donald trump is clearly the number one strategy. >> those voters that say i could have voted for joe biden and i can't vote for kamala harris, what is the reasoning? to be running on the same policy platform that he was

running on, she has been his vp. >> well, i think it is going to be interesting sort of what those voters say. there are some people, i know i have run into them, there are voters that simply do not want to vote for a woman. they don't want to vote for a black person, there is some of that that might be going on, i have been talking to her allies. there might be some racism and some misogyny that are going to work against her. there is also the idea that some people don't like the fact that she was a prosecutor, some progressives were going to question whether or not she was progressive enough in criminal justice reforms, the way she prosecuted cases in california, that is going to be part of this conversation. but a big part of this conversation is the message that vice president harris gives to voters. from my understanding, she is going to be talking about the power she can have and leaning on the biography that she has really bring people in and make people understand that she is relatable to a number of americans. i was just with her in massachusetts yesterday and she was talking about the fact that she was a child of civil rights

activists that met while organizing in the movement, her father being jamaican, her mother being indian. so, the idea is she is really going to try to bring people in and convince people that she has what it takes. and also, what i think is working in her favor when it comes to those voters that might be questioning her and saying i like joe biden but i don't know about vice president harris, she was right there along with him for policies, for decisions. she has the endorsement of the president now. she is going to be able to say in a way that i think no other candidate can, this is a biden- harris administration. she was there talking to people across the world as a member of the ministration. think about the fact that she has not just been here domestically, but she has been over at different security conferences, different countries, talking to heads of state. so, i think there might be some people that say she doesn't have the expense, but i think three years into the job as vice president, she will be able to point to that too. there will be challenges ahead,

but i think she is really looking forward to having that conversation and winning over those voters who might question her and say that they don't like her, but they might have voted for joe biden. i will say and talking to allies, that's not what the polls are showing. in the last few weeks, while people close to her were doing polls, they saw she had sort of the same polling numbers when it came to sort of independent voters, but that she did better among young people and she did really good among voters of color and women voters. so, i think there might be an untapped base that will be more energized for her than for joe biden. >> i don't want to let you go before i ask you a bit more about the last few weeks. you said you were in massachusetts with her, you were at a number of events. talk to us about how she is received by those audiences, because over the last few weeks, she has done a lot of events in the late afternoon, we have had a chance to see her, and she seems electrifying, energized. and what people don't know her, maybe they just haven't seen her enough. certainly from a national media perspective, what do we do? we always cover the president.

>> yeah, well, i will say this, having seen her in person delivering a speech at a time where the democratic party was really in chaos, as of yesterday, where there was a really a lot of angst and anger and uncertainty, she was really, really clear in massachusetts when she was talking to this crowd of 1000 people in providence town in massachusetts and she was praising the president, which was also talking about her own background. when i was talking to people the crap of this that i really want to see her at the top of the ticket. she had this great speech when she was talking about all these things, and the loudest applause that she got was when she was criticizing former president trump, and someone in the crowd screamed out, go get him, kamala. when that happens, the crowd sort of erupted in this energetic cheers and applause, sustained applause, it was the biggest moment during that speech, and it really in some ways was taking the pulse of how people were feeling. and afterwards, i talked to people who said i love joe

biden, he is a nice guy, but i really want to see kamala at the top of the ticket. and one other thing, there was one voter who said i love president biden, but he is in some ways like an old salesman who is not meeting his numbers. judy is going to be replacing you tonight. president biden saying actually, kamala harris is the one i would like to replace me. >> oh my gosh. suddenly glenn gary, glen ross make their way to the democratic ticket, judy is going to replace you. it's funny you say that because i think back to the rnc last week when the message every single time there was a wall at the podium from the audience was fight, fight, fight. amazing to hear the audience when kamala harris is speaking is go get him. it sounds like some of those voters think she is the person who is up for that fight. thank you so much for being here. peter, thank you always. when we return, people are going to be asking, where were you on this sunday? a sunday like no other.

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joe biden was one of the youngest ever elected to the u.s. senate, now he is officially stepping aside to make way for another historic first.

lester holt has a look at joe biden's legacy. >> reporter: voters have been talking about joe biden's age for decades, at first questioning if he was too young. >> so help you god. >> i do. >> congratulations, senator. >> reporter: at just 30 years old, joe biden was sworn in as a senator from delaware, one of the youngest in u.s. history. he did it at the hospital bedside of his two sons who had survived the car crash that had killed his wife and 13 month old daughter amy, just weeks after the 1972 election. >> i make this one promise that if in six months or so there is a conflict between my being a good father and being a good senator, i will contact governor elect as i had earlier and tell him that we can always get another senator, but they can't get another father. >> reporter: at times he wanted to quit, but fellow senators urged him to stay the course. >> i want to thank you all, and

really, it means a lot to me and i appreciate it and i hope i can be a good senator for you all. >> reporter: representing the state of delaware for 36 years, the first set his sights on the presidency when he was in his 40s, making an unsuccessful bid for the oval office. followed by another attempt in 2008 before joining senator barack obama's ticket and ascending to the vice presidency. >> i leave here today to begin my service to our nation's first african american president. >> reporter: tragedy rock to the biden family again in 2015 when brain cancer took the life of the then vice presidents oldest son, beau. a year later, speculation around whether or not the then vp would enter the presidential race once again, ultimately stepping aside as hillary clinton became the democratic nominee. >> historic, unprecedented, moments. >> reporter: in 2019, joe biden

fueled by then president trump's comments about the racist rally in charlottesville, decided to run for president once again. during the 2020 democratic primaries, he hinted at being a one term president. >> local, i view myself as a bridge, not as anything else. >> reporter: for biden, the third time was the charm. at 78 years old, the man who came to washington as one of the youngest senators became its oldest president. >> at this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed. >> reporter: but his age but a magnifying glass on every stumble through the years. in april 2023, biden announced he was running for a second term . behind-the-scenes, many democrats were concerned about his age and his poll numbers. one of them, congressman dean phillips, even noted an unsuccessful primary challenge. the american public agreed.

polls early this year found fewer and fewer democrats confident in his mental capacity to serve as commander- in-chief. the biden campaign hoping to change the narrative, looked to the example of ronald reagan, who erased concerns about his age in a 1984 debate with one iconic line. >> i will not make age an issue of this campaign. i am not going to exploit for political purposes my opponent's youth and inexperience. >> reporter: the biden camp agreed to a june debate, the earliest in modern history. but for the president, the night was a disaster, displaying a raspy voice and at times struggling to come up with coherent answers. >> look, if -- we finally beat medicare. >> reporter: the presidents performance setting off alarms in the democratic establishment. even his vp admitting it wasn't

his best night. but it was a slow start, but a strong finish. >> reporter: in the days after, biden attempted to right the ship, hosting nato leaders in washington, and sitting for major network interviews. >> it was a bad episode. no indication of any serious condition. >> did you ever watch the debate afterwards? >> i don't think i did, no. >> reporter: but it wasn't enough, as dozens of house and senate democrats began calling for him to drop out. the growing drumbeat finally too loud to ignore. >> it is up to the president to decide if he is going to run. we are all encouraging him to make that decision, because time is running short. >> reporter: the presidents more than half a century run in washington, d.c. now coming to a close, but not the way he wanted. >> presidential historian and dear friend of mine, michael, joins me now.

michael, i want to start by asking where you were when you found out the news, but i am actually concerned that maybe donald trump hasn't been alerted to the news yet, because just 20 minutes ago at 10:30, he posted on social media, biden never had covid, he is a threat to democracy. somebody on his team might want to let them know that threat that he believes joe biden is posing to democracy is waning, he is no longer running. but for you, where were you? i mean, you were one of the first people i thought of as a presidential historian, like what is michael doing right now? >> well, first of all, if that's what donald trump said just a little while ago, maybe one of his aides should suggest that you take a cognitive test, since he is now the oldest candidate in the presidential race. perhaps he is not up to the job. that having been said, it was

early afternoon, i was working on a book i am writing and i got a text from one of my two sons, who are as you know, 27 and 30, and he said he won't believe what's happened. >> what does this decision say about who joe biden is? >> it says almost everything. and i think it is not too much to say, this is a day that we should be grateful for joe biden's presence in american history and in the history of democracy, he is going to be a beloved figure, but it is very hard to give up political power and to end your political career, whether it is voluntary or not. remember walter mondeo, the vice president of jimmy carter, lost to ronald reagan in 1984, 49 states last -- reagan won 49 states, montel got d.c. george

mcgovern got one state and d.c. as well. after mondello loses, he told me 1984, he called up george mcgovern, it was 12 years after mcgovern's huge defeat, doing a lot to end his political career, at least as a presidential candidate, and so mondale said, george, when does this start hurting? and mcgovern said years later, when it does, i will let you know. that's what this is like. >> this passing of the torch, though, what precedents do you see for this? >> usually, presidents do not name their successors, and that's why this is such a historic day. that has rarely happens in modern american history. plus, the fact that we have never seen an incumbent president pull out basically a month before the convention, this is incredible. johnson and '68 pulled out in march, the convention was going to be in august. 1952, truman also pulled out in

march, the convention that year was going to be in july, in chicago of all places. but the point is this is something that we never see, and i think this is something that we will be telling our grandchildren about. >> so, what are you watching for between now and the convention, because to that very point, this historic point, suddenly, we may see this energy when it comes to the convention. you know, on friday, i was talking to a top-five donor, who said if the ticket remains who it is, there is a lack of enthusiasm, it is the last week of august, people are going to be thinking they're getting the same old story, but now, history has been made. how much excitement and enthusiasm do you think there will be leading up to and including this convention? >> well, you know, it is almost like -- i hate to use this metaphor because you are the world's expert in business and finance, but i will try it, and push back if i get it wrong, when sometimes investors talk

about a company and they say these things should be spun off because the true value of this company is being repressed and held down, well, through no fault of his own, it is not joe biden's fault that he is 81 years old and that he was summoned back to washington to assume the presidency, the potential of a democratic presidential candidate, i believe this year, was held down by the unfortunate fact that joe biden is 81 years old. now we will see what the support is for a candidate who is not only six years old, but also has a lot of other qualities as kamala harris does. i think when you see her walk out onto that stage in chicago, i think the roof is going to go off the stadium, there is going to be such a relief and enthusiasm. >> well, we will soon find out. michael, thank you so much. and before we leave to break, what's amazing is one might think that some folks in the media were prepared, had no

idea this could happen, which is stunning because many people assumed it. tonight on fox news, sean hannity is going on and on, not about kamala harris's policies, not necessarily about her record, but saying that she hates plastic straws and she wants america to only use paper straws. he is upset because he loves plastic straws. well, i would like to help him, hey, sean, they also make cups that have a little hole in it right here, you don't need a straw at all. i don't know what they have where he lives in long island, but here in new jersey and pennsylvania where there is wawa, you can just get a cup where there is a hole in it and solve this problem. >> it shows that they must be afraid of her as a candidate. be well, stephanie. >> a historic night, it is about paper versus plastic straws, think about that. michael, thank you. for you at home, stay right here, because our special coverage continues right after the break. >> [ music ]

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