President Joe Biden’s announcement Sunday that he will not seek reelection marked another surprising development in the election campaign, just one week after the attempted assassination of President Donald Trump.
The breaking news spread quickly across Wall Street and the business world, days after CEOs of major companies condemned the political violence and wished President Trump a speedy recovery from his gunshot wounds.
Meanwhile, Trump was swift to respond on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, saying “Villain Joe Biden is completely unfit to run for President and completely unfit to hold office – and never has been!”
Elon Musk
The Tesla CEO endorsed Trump just minutes after last week’s shooting, and his X reply marked his first reaction to the news on Sunday.
“We heard last week that he would be stepping down on this very date and time. It was widely known in Washington. The real powers that be are discarding their old puppets in favor of ones more likely to deceive the people. They fear Trump because he is not a puppet.”
Bill Ackman
Like Musk, the CEO of Pershing Square also voiced his support for Trump over the weekend, tweeting on Sunday that “If @KamalaHarris is not the nominee, it would be an admission that she was not qualified to be VP. Therefore @KamalaHarris is the nominee.”
Mark Cuban
Billionaire entrepreneur, Shark Tank John Biden, the NBA star and minority owner of the Dallas Mavericks NBA team, remains a staunch supporter of Biden after his dismal performance in last month’s debate, in which he looked aged and frail.
On Sunday, he simply tweeted, “Father Time can’t be defeated.”
Reed Hastings
“Democratic delegates need to pick the winners of battleground states,” the Netflix co-founder and chairman posted on X.
Reid Hoffman
The LinkedIn co-founder and Biden campaign donor praised Biden’s decision and voiced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris to top the list of candidates.
“Harris’ record and leadership on economic growth, fighting for bodily independence, and protecting democracy make her uniquely positioned to counter Trump’s extremism,” X wrote in the thread.
Aaron Levy
The CEO of Box, a cloud-based content management provider, said at X, “Wow. Great leadership. Let’s get started!”
Vinod Khosla
The billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist urged Democrats to hold an open convention and choose a more moderate candidate who could beat President Trump.
Speaking about X, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro also said, “It’s a great thing for America not to be held captive by MAGA extremists and DEI extremists. It’s a golden opportunity for a better, more moderate path. Socially liberal, climate- and fiscally-conscious voters should all want that to balance our approach.”
Lawrence Summers
The former Treasury secretary under President Bill Clinton and White House economic adviser to President Barack Obama tweeted that Biden’s withdrawal was “the noble act.”
“Any president can claim this legacy. No president since Franklin Roosevelt has passed so many bills supporting the economic interests of the middle class. I didn’t agree with every measure, but the cumulative accomplishments will be studied by historians for decades, perhaps centuries, to come.”
Gina Borbin
“Biden’s departure from office is a new level of political uncertainty, which could trigger some long-overdue market volatility,” the president of Volvin Wealth Management Group said in a statement.
Morris Pearl
The former BlackRock managing director and now chairman of Patriotic Millionaires, which advocates for highly progressive taxes, a livable minimum wage and equal political representation to address inequality, praised Biden’s move.
“President Biden’s decision to sacrifice his personal political ambitions for the American people will go down in history as an act of unmatched selfless patriotism. As he passes the baton to the next generation, Biden cements his legacy as a bulwark against rising authoritarianism, a fierce defender of working people and a fundamentally good man who puts country above all else,” he said in a statement Sunday.
