Biden’s 2024 Exit: 24-Year-Old Social Media Whiz Posted Historic Dropout Letter

On a chaotic Sunday afternoon in July 2024, former President Joe Biden’s campaign team scrambled to announce his bombshell decision to exit the 2024 presidential race. A new book, 2024: How Trump Retook the White House and the Democrats Lost America, unveils the frenzied behind-the-scenes moments, including the surprising choice of a 24-year-old social media prodigy, Parker Butler, to post the historic dropout letter.

Biden, alongside former First Lady Jill Biden, made urgent calls on July 21, 2024, notifying key figures like then-Vice President Kamala Harris and campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon just hours before the public reveal. O’Malley Dillon, reportedly emotional, tasked deputy Rob Flaherty with preparing the announcement. Flaherty, caught mid-hike in Wilmington’s Alapocas Run State Park, faced logistical chaos, lacking direct access to the campaign’s social media accounts.

In a pinch, Flaherty enlisted Butler, a young staffer with a knack for digital platforms, to handle the critical post. With minimal warning and no initial details about the letter’s content, Butler posted it across platforms like Twitter and Instagram at 1:46 p.m., as Biden simultaneously informed his White House team via Zoom—some, like senior official Anita Dunn learning of the decision in real time.

The letter, formal yet seismic, read: “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President... I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down.” Biden later endorsed Harris in a separate post, setting off a whirlwind of political shifts.

This revelation exposes the messy, human side of high-stakes political decisions—a campaign racing against time, relying on a young digital whiz to broadcast a world-altering moment.