Biden quit race for reelection because of polling data, sources say

YEREVAN, JULY 22, ARMENPRESS. U.S. President Joe Biden gave most of his aides a mere moment's notice of his decision to quit the race for reelection on Sunday after an agonizing 48 hours poring over polling data which showed his path to victory was closing, Reuters reports citing two sources.

According to one of the sources, only the day before, Biden was telling many aides that he would continue campaigning to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in November. 

After digesting the polling data late on Saturday, Biden changed his mind. He gathered his senior White House and campaign team for a call shortly before 1:45 p.m. on Sunday and moments later made his announcement public in a letter to all Americans, Reuters adds.

One source said top aides showed Biden internal polling with the jarring news on Saturday night that he was not just trailing in all six critical swing states that could decide the election but also collapsing in places like Virginia and Minnesota where Democrats had not planned on needing to spend massive resources, the report continues.

Biden was isolating at his home at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, since testing positive for COVID-19 on July 17. 

"He read the letter to us and wanted us to understand his thinking. He said he had wrestled with it over the last 48 hours," said one official.

Later Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him.