In the early hours of the morning today (July 22), current US President Joe Biden announced he would be stepping down from the 2024 Presidential election, severing his bid for reelection this November. Expectedly so, the internet has erupted with an onslaught of scorching hot takes about the news – and of course, some of the world’s biggest musical artists have weighed in.
In a formal statement posted just after 3:45am AEST, Biden wrote: “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as [the US] President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as the President for the remainder of my term.”
Just 30 minutes afterwards, Cher spoke up with some conflicted feelings about the upcoming election – though she seemed to have misread Biden’s statement, as she opined on Twitter that she “[doesn’t] believe the Democrats can win the Presidency” with Biden as the party’s frontrunner. “I believe it’s time [to] pass the baton,” she said, imploring the Democratic party to “think way outside the box”.
In a follow-up tweet, Cher gave the opinion that a new Democratic frontrunner would be “the only chance for [the US] to remain [a] democracy”. She notably campaigned for Biden in 2020, even going so far as releasing a song called Happiness Is Just A Thing Called Joe.
Another musical icon from the same era, Barbra Streisand, praised Biden as “a man who accomplished significant achievements in his [four-year] term”, saying to her audience that people “should be grateful for his upholding of our democracy”.
In terms of younger artists speaking out, Lizzo noted in an Instagram post that “we are truly living in unprecedented times”, while Finneas said he has “an enormous amount of respect” for Biden as “a person putting the people before themselves and their pride”.
Meanwhile, Cardi B tweeted in support of Kamala Harris – the current US Vice President and Biden’s (now former) running mate in his bid for reelection – taking over as the Democratic frontrunner; Harris herself confirmed that she fully intends “to earn and win this nomination”.
Ariana Grande also vouched her support for Harris by sharing a post of endorsement (originating from Biden himself) to her Instagram Story, while Charli xcx quipped on Twitter that “Kamala IS brat” (referencing the artist’s just-released album Brat). Shortly thereafter, Harris followed Charli on Instagram.
Surprisingly, noted Trump fanatic Jason Aldean hasn’t piped up about the news just yet. We have no doubts he’ll have a lot to say when he inevitably does.
