Biden spurns traditional media, avoids leaks by quitting race online
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President Biden made the most important statement of his political career on social media Sunday, sending traditional media scrambling to confirm and amplify news of his withdrawal from the 2024 race.
Why it matters: His announcement, posted to social media accounts at around 1:46pm ET Sunday, surprised even senior campaign and White House officials. Biden's inner circle guarded the news carefully to avoid leaks.
Catch up quick: In the hours before Biden quit, senior officials and press staff were still pushing back against reports that he was even considering stepping down and assuring the public he planned to be the nominee.
- Sources told Axios that senior staff outside of Biden's inner circle were told of the news at 1:45pm ET, a minute before an official statement was posted online.
- The internal and external announcements were posted in near-conjunction, presumably to avoid leaks.
State of play: Biden posted a picture of his historic letter dropping out of the race on X, Facebook, Instagram and Threads. The message was posted to X at 1:46 p.m. ET. It appeared on other social platforms at roughly the same time.
- Cable news networks followed several minutes later. Broadcast networks cut out of sports programs shortly after the 2pm ET hour to break the news.
- Print and digital news networks began alerting the news around 2pm ET.
Between the lines: Most news outlets cited Biden's X post as their source for the official announcement.
- While Instagram, Threads and Facebook have intentionally tried to de-prioritize political content in its feeds, X has leaned in.
- "X is where history happens," X CEO Linda Yaccarino posted in response to Biden's post.
Yes, but: While social media announcements can be easier to control from a timing perspective, they can invite skepticism over their validity.
- Official communications are also ripe for manipulation and misinformation.
- In the wake of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel, for example, altered documents made to look like the White House designated $8 billion in aid for Israel went viral online.
The big picture: The last eligible sitting president who chose not to run for re-election, Lyndon B. Johnson, made his announcement via a formal Oval Office address.
- Biden chose not to give any press interviews or deliver official remarks Sunday, relying solely on his statement posted online. He said he planned to give official remarks later this week.
- The president was diagnosed with COVID-19 last week and has been recovering in isolation, which may have impacted his media strategy.
The bottom line: Biden's social media statement was ironic given how heavily the 81-year-old still relies on television news.
