MICHIGAN (WXYZ) — Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and other Michigan officials have released statements after Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 Presidential Race. Those statements, including Whitmer's which was released on X Sunday afternoonminutes after the news of Biden dropping out, is in full below:
Governor Gretchen Whitmer
"President Biden is a great public servant who knows better than anyone what it takes to defeat Donald Trump. His remarkable work to lower prescription drug costs, fix the damn roads, bring supply chains home, address climate change, and ensure America’s global leadership over decades will go down in history. My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything I can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families’ costs, banning abortion nationwide, and abusing the power of the White House to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan."
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Rep. Dan Kildee
“As a United States Senator, Vice President and now President, Joe Biden has dedicated his life in service to the American people. He has been a remarkable and effective president with historic accomplishments. I look forward to continuing to work with President Biden as he completes his term."
Lavorna Barnes, Michigan Democratic Party Chair
“Because of President Biden’s leadership, America came out of the pandemic with the strongest economy in the world. Working with a Democratic Congress, President Biden signed historic legislation to cut taxes for working families and rebuild our country’s infrastructure. He made the single largest investment to combat climate change and for the first time in three decades passed a law to reduce gun violence. President Biden restored America’s reputation around the world, strengthening our alliances, expanding the NATO, and helping to promote democracy around the globe.
“Joe Biden will go down in history as one of America’s most effective presidents. Not only has he been an extraordinary leader with many accomplishments, but he has also shown the American people how to lead with honesty, decency and empathy. All Americans owe President Biden a debt a gratitude for his decades of service to the American people.”
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Congresswoman Debbie Dingell
"Joe Biden is a dedicated public servant and a dear friend who has helped me through some of life's most challenging moments, and I find myself crying now. For his entire career, and throughout his presidency, he and his administration have achieved monumental successes for the American people - from lowering everyday costs and rebuilding our infrastructure to expanding access to health care for millions of veterans and delivering the most transformative climate and environmental justice agenda in history. I am proud of his legacy of service to our nation and know he remains committed to continuing his important work through the remainder of his term. His leadership has helped build a stronger and more unified America and he has changed our country for the better."
Sen. Debbie Stabenow
"President Joe Biden has done more for MI during his presidency than any other president in my lifetime. In the past three & a half years, we’ve fixed thousands of roads & bridges, boosted manufacturing, brought jobs home, lowered the cost of prescription drugs & tackled the climate crisis. President Biden’s long career of public service has truly improved the lives of Americans in so many important ways. His decision today is another courageous action in his long history of service to our country."
Sen. Gary Peters
"Joe Biden’s life has been dedicated to our nation. There is no greater dedication a leader can make than sacrifice.
“Today, Joe and Jill Biden put America first. Colleen and I send our gratitude and support to the President and First Lady. Michigan is better because we have delivered an unmatched track record of accomplishments together.
“The Biden-Harris Administration has been a model for delivering bipartisan results for the American people: from renewing our infrastructure, to lowering costs for families, to building a future where everyone can thrive.
“I thank him for his truly remarkable career of service to our nation.”
Rep. Hillary Scholten
"President Biden made a difficult decision for the good of our nation. I am grateful for his courage and legacy of American leadership. There's so much at stake this election – let's unite as a country behind Vice President Kamala Harris and rise victorious over extremism this November. There has never been a more critical election than this one for women's reproductive rights, for democracy, and for our future."
Statement from the United Auto Workers
"Today, the United Auto Workers thanks President Joe Biden for his incredible term of service, and the leadership he has shown in putting country before self, once again, in passing the torch to a new generation.
Joe Biden made history by joining us on our picket line last September and has stood shoulder to shoulder with the working class throughout his term in office. Vice President Kamala Harris walked the picket line with us in 2019, and along with President Biden has brought work and jobs back to communities like Lordstown, Ohio, and Belvidere, Illinois. That’s the legacy President Biden leaves, and that’s the work we will continue to build on as a union. While Donald Trump lies about rebuilding the auto industry, the fact is that while he was in office, autoworkers in Lordstown were left for dead by GM in 2019 while he said and did nothing.
The path forward is clear: we will defeat Donald Trump and his billionaire agenda and elect a champion for the working class to the highest office in this country. We will speak truth to power about the issues that matter to the working class: a living wage, decent healthcare, a dignified retirement, and taking our lives and our time back. And we will Stand Up for our members and the whole working class in the fight for economic and social justice on and off the job."
