就在宣布准备重返竞选活动两天后，乔·拜登总统周日宣布辍学让他的工作人员大吃一惊。

　　“作为你们的总统，这是我一生中最大的荣幸，”拜登在他的声明中说。

　　拜登决定退出竞选连任之前，白宫一再发表声明，拜登本人也宣布，他将继续参加竞选，并有信心击败前总统唐纳德·特朗普的连任竞选。然而，这些保证并没有减少来自越来越多的民主党同僚的公众压力，他们要求拜登让位给更强有力的候选人。

　　大约48小时后，正在从新冠肺炎恢复的拜登表示，他将于本周返回竞选活动，来自他自己党内的压力要求他退出比赛继续攀升。

　　不仅响应拜登退出呼吁的民主党国会议员人数增加到至少40人，西弗吉尼亚州参议员乔·曼钦(Joe Manchin)等坚定的拜登支持者也公开呼吁这位81岁的总统结束总统竞选。

　　就在拜登宣布他将退居二线，并支持副总统卡玛拉·哈里斯领导他的政党之前，曼钦参加了美国广播公司的“本周”节目，并鼓励拜登“将火炬传递给新一代”

　　“与许多人不同，他将作为最优秀的、真正爱国的美国人之一被载入史册，”曼钦说。“因此，我怀着沉重的心情来到这里，认为他将火炬传递给新一代的时候到了。”

　　消息人士告诉美国广播公司新闻首席华盛顿记者乔恩·卡尔，拜登的决定是在参议院民主党领袖查克·舒默在他位于特拉华州雷霍博斯的海滩别墅拜访拜登并与拜登就退出竞选进行推心置腹的谈话后八天做出的。

　　消息人士进一步告诉美国广播公司新闻，拜登自己的工作人员直到他周日公开宣布他的决定前一分钟才知道拜登辞职，这让总统的一些工作人员对这一决定措手不及。

　　副总统哈里斯在她周日发布的一份声明中没有说她得知拜登辞职，而是着重赞扬了拜登的领导能力。

　　哈里斯说:“我代表美国人民，感谢乔·拜登作为美国总统的非凡领导能力，以及他几十年来为我们国家所做的贡献。”“他非凡的成就在现代美国历史上是无与伦比的，超过了许多连任两届的总统的遗产。”

　　在…里致全国的一封信拜登没有详细说明是什么样的想法促使他做出这一决定，只是说“虽然我一直打算连任，但我相信我下台并在剩余任期内专注于履行总统职责符合我的政党和国家的最佳利益。”

　　拜登的声明还表示，他将在本周晚些时候向全国发表讲话，介绍他的决定，这是在他6月份与前总统唐纳德·特朗普进行灾难性辩论24天后做出的。

　　就在周日宣布的两天前，拜登听起来似乎没有计划退出连任竞选。在周五的一份声明中，总统说，“我期待下周回到竞选活动中，继续揭露唐纳德·特朗普的2025项目议程的威胁，同时证明我自己的记录和我对美国的愿景:我们拯救我们的民主，保护我们的权利和自由，为每个人创造机会。”

　　拜登最小的弟弟弗兰克·拜登(Frank Biden)对美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)表示，他哥哥随后做出的退出决定是在过去一周由第一夫人吉尔·拜登(Jill Biden)领导的几名拜登家族成员举行了几次讨论后才达成的“千钧一发”的决定，并且拜登家族一直支持总统做他认为对国家最好的事情。

　　“这真的可以归结为:这与他的整体健康和活力有关。不是任何认知的东西。但他是个骄傲的家伙，走路时拖拖拉拉让他很生气，”弗兰克·拜登告诉美国广播公司新闻。

　　弗兰克·拜登还表示，“(对他的家人来说)看到狗对他撒野真是太可怕了，”他指的是最近几周加入呼吁拜登退出竞选的长期盟友。

　　“乔脑子里最想的是一件事。不是他，不是他的自负，不是他的野心。他真的已经到了对他来说唯一重要的事情是这个国家的健康的地步，”弗兰克·拜登说。

　　一位接近拜登家族的消息人士反驳了弗兰克·拜登对拜登总统决定的描述，他说:“他已经几个星期没有和他哥哥说过话了。他说健康是总统决定的一个因素，这完全是不真实的。”

　　What pushed President Biden to withdraw from the reelection race?

　　Just two days after announcing he was prepared to return to the campaign trail, President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he isdropping outof the race, taking members of his staff by surprise.

　　"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President," Biden said in part in his statement.

　　Biden's decision to withdraw from the reelection campaign came in the wake of repeated White House statements, and declarations from Biden himself, that he would remain in the race and was confident that he could defeat former President Donald Trump's reelection bid. Yet those assurances did little to decrease the public pressure from an increasing number of his fellow Democrats for Biden to move aside in favor of a stronger candidate.

　　Some 48 hours after Biden, who is recovering from COVID-19, said he would return to the stump this week, the pressure from those in his own party for him towithdraw from the racecontinued to mount.

　　Not only did the list of Democratic congressional members echoing the call for Biden to withdraw grow to at least 40, staunch Biden supporters like Sen. Joe Manchin, I-W.Va., upped their public calls for the 81-year-old president to end his presidential campaign.

　　Just before Biden announced that he was stepping aside and endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, to lead his party's ticket, Manchin went on ABC's "This Week" and encouraged Biden "to pass the torch to a new generation."

　　"He will go down with a legacy unlike many people, as one of the finest and truly a [patriotic] American,"Manchin said. "So, with that, I come with a heavy heart to think the time has come for him to pass the torch to a new generation."

　　Biden's decision came just eight days after Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer visited Biden in his Rehoboth, Delaware, beach home and had a heart-to-heart talk with Biden about leaving the race, sources told ABC News Chief Washington correspondent Jon Karl.

　　Sources further told ABC News that Biden's own staff didn't know Biden was stepping down until just one minute before he publicly announced his decision on Sunday, leaving some members of the president's staff blindsided by the decision.

　　Vice President Harris did not say in a statement she released Sunday when she learned Biden was stepping aside, focusing instead on praising Biden's leadership.

　　"On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as president of the United States and for his decades of service to our country," Harris said. "His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many presidents who have served two terms in office."

　　Ina letter to the nation, Biden didn't elaborate on what thinking may have prompted his decision, saying only "And while it has been my intention to see 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."

　　Biden's statement also said he would speak later this week to the nation about his decision, which came came 24 days after his disastrous June debate with former President Donald Trump.

　　Just two days prior to Sunday's announcement, Biden sounded as if he had no plans to withdraw from the reelection race. In a statement Friday, the president said, "I look forward to getting back on the campaign trail next week to continue exposing the threat of Donald Trump's Project 2025 agenda while making the case for my own record and the vision that I have for America: one where we save our democracy, protect our rights and freedoms, and create opportunity for everyone."

　　Biden’s youngest brother, Frank Biden, told ABC News that his brother’s subsequent decision to withdraw was a "close call" reached only after several Biden family members held several discussions over the past week, led by first lady Jill Biden, and that the family has always been supportive of the president doing whatever he thought best for the country.

　　“It really boils down to this: it has to do with his overall health and vitality. Not anything cognitive. But he’s a proud guy, it pisses him off that he shuffles when he walks," Frank Biden told ABC News.

　　Frank Biden also said it has “been really horrible [for the family] to see the dogs let loose on him,” referring to longtime allies who in recent weeks joined the calls for Biden to drop out of the race.

　　“Joe has one thing uppermost in his mind. It’s not him, not his ego, not his ambition. He has really reached a place where the only thing that matters to him is the health of this nation," Frank Biden said.

　　A source close to the Biden family disputed Frank Biden's account of President Biden's decision, saying, "He hasn’t spoken to his brother in weeks. What he said about health being a factor in the president’s decision is completely untrue."