"I need you and Mike at the house,” U.S. President Joe Biden said late Saturday afternoon.
Biden was on the phone from his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with Steve Ricchetti, a counselor to the president and one of his closest advisers. He was referring to Mike Donilon, his chief strategist and longtime speechwriter. Soon, both men were in Rehoboth Beach, socially distanced from the president, who was recovering from COVID-19.
From that afternoon and far into the night, the three worked on one of the most important and historic letters of Biden’s presidency — the announcement of his decision to withdraw from his reelection campaign after top Democrats, donors, close allies and friends had pressured him relentlessly to get out.