‘The View’ cohosts praise Joe Biden for dropping out of election race

They might be in the final stretch of a weekend break, so The View cohosts turned social media into their own Hot Topics forum as they reacted Sunday to President Joe Biden dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.

Alyssa Farah Griffin; Joe Biden; Ana Navarro.

ABC/Jeff Lipsky; Getty

Minutes after Biden announced that he would not seek re-election in November, both of The View‘s Republican panelists, Alyssa Farah Griffin and Ana Navarro, celebrated the move on social media.

“The public interest in this presidential race was already very high. That interest just went through the roof. The whole country will be watching the next few weeks and the Democratic Convention,” wrote 35-year-old Griffin, who previously worked for Republican nominee Donald Trump‘s White House communications team before resigning and speaking out against her ex-boss.

In a follow-up message, she added: “It takes character and integrity to know when it’s time to pass the torch. Grateful to @JoeBiden for doing what he knows is best for the country and giving another generation of leadership a chance.”

Navarro, 52, shared a graphic tagging Biden that read, “Thank you for everything.” She later posted a photo of herself standing next to Vice President Kamala Harris — whom Biden endorsed as his choice to be the Democratic nominee in his place — with the caption, “We so ready.”

Griffin and cohosts Sara Haines and Sunny Hostin previously raised concerns over Biden’s fitness to remain in the race following his June 27 debate against Trump, after which Griffin urged Biden on the air to “put country before his own ambition” and “step aside and pass the baton” to a new candidate.

Biden announced Sunday that he would not accept the Democratic Party’s nomination in the election cycle, and threw his support behind Harris — who, if elected, would become the first-ever female president.

“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote Sunday in a post on X. “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”

The 81-year-old leader’s withdrawal came after weeks of sustained calls from Democrats, Republicans, and celebrity figures from both sides of the political aisle — including George Clooney, who published a New York Times op-ed urging Biden to step down earlier this month.

Biden’s decision also followed a particularly dramatic week in U.S. political history, as Trump survived an assassination attempt at a Pennsylvania rally on July 13, followed by a chaotic showing at the Republican National Convention that featured a revolving door of speakers, including model Amber Rose, reality star Savannah Chrisley, longtime Trump critic Nikki Haley, and Hulk Hogan.

The View airs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET/PT on ABC.