'Mountains of thank yous:' What Democrats think about Biden leaving the race
As Democrats gather to nominate Kamala Harris as their presidential nominee, delegates and attendees at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago weighed in on whether President Biden was abandoned by party leaders who pressured him to suspend his presidential campaign.
Reports have circulated about Biden feeling "bitter" toward the top Democrats who organized his ouster from the 2024 presidential race, even as the party prepared a massive sendoff at the DNC. Liberal pundits and columnists have deemed Biden's ouster a "coup" orchestrated behind the scenes by powerful party leaders, but some Biden supporters seemingly disagreed with that characterization.
Heather Pirowski, Indiana delegate and founder of Hoosier Breast Cancer Advocates, told Fox News Digital that Biden put his country above himself by passing the torch to Harris.
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"He wasn't abandoned by us. We love Joe. I just think as a human, where's his ego…. honestly, for him to do this and to realize and put his country above himself… because this is [setting] precedence." she said.
Pirowski added that she feels personally indebted to Biden for taking "me out of my depression," which was brought on by former President Trump's 2016 victory.
"We love Joe, and we're just so thankful for everything that he's done. And honestly, to revitalize this country and to take me out of my depression after the election with Trump in 2016, so he's done so much for me personally and just mountains of thank yous," she added.
Luciano Garza, a Texas delegate, replied "not at all" when asked whether Biden was hung out to dry by members of his own party.
"Tonight, we honor his legacy, and we're so excited to see him. We're sad to see him go but… his job was a battle for the soul of our democracy and that's exactly what he's doing by passing the torch to Kamala Harris tonight. So we are sad, but we're excited."
Tyrin Truong, a Louisiana delegate, said Biden made an "admirable" decision to step aside and endorse Harris in his place.
"We're just glad for the transition. We hate to see him go, but he's still going to be there to help us fight."
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Renee Garner, a retired educator from Houston, said while she wouldn't agree that Democratic leaders abandoned Biden, his decision to withdraw from the race was likely the result of "a lot of persuasion."
"Gentle persuasion," she clarified. "I think he was able to see that it was time for someone else."
The president announced he would be dropping out of the race for the White House at the end of July, following weeks of pressure from top Democrats, who had reportedly called on him to bow out in private. Top Democrats, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Chuck Schumer and more have repeatedly denied they were involved in a "coup" to push Biden out but publicly or privately encouraged him to step aside, according to reports.