Biden’s Withdrawal From Race, a Reporter’s Call to Action

At 1:46 E.S.T. on Sunday afternoon, President Biden announced on social media that he would end his re-election campaign, following weeks of mounting pressure from voters and politicians across the aisle. Soon after, Mr. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mr. Biden’s announcement arrived just weeks ahead of the Democratic National Convention. It’s the latest a sitting president has withdrawn from a race in American history.

As soon as Mr. Biden posted his statement, Reid J. Epstein, who has spent the last 20 years writing about politics and who joined The New York Times in 2019, sprung into action. As a reporter covering the 2024 presidential campaign, he began making calls to colleagues and sources, discussing articles that were already prepared and brainstorming coverage to come. He did all of this in the car home from his son’s birthday party.

In an interview on Monday, Mr. Epstein shared his reaction to the news and what he expects moving forward. This interview has been edited and condensed.

What were you doing when you heard the news?

Well, I was at my son’s birthday party at a swimming pool. We had finished the cupcakes and I saw a Slack message that said Biden was out. I told my wife that I had to go. I gave my son a hug, and said that I was very sorry that I was missing the end of his party, but I would see him at home. I called a car.

I went back to my house and went into our home office — and spent the rest of the day there.

Were articles already prepared? Were you diving into new ones as well?