'Thank you for your service, Mr. President. Now let's win': Massachusetts reacts to Biden

Massachusetts's Democratic political leadership has started to react after President Joe Biden announced he was no longer running for re-election on Sunday.

Biden's announcement came after weeks of turmoil for the Biden-Harris campaign. Many within his party began to call on him to withdraw after the president's poor performance at the June debate against former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee for the president.

The president is 81 years old and has held elected office for 50 years, including on a Delaware county council, U.S. senator, and vice president.

Here are the reactions of the Massachusetts congressional delegation and Gov. Maura Healey, who was one of the first to question if he should withdraw. On Sunday, she issued the following statement.

What Gov. Maura Healey said

"Joe Biden ran for President to restore the soul of our country and defeat the greatest threat our democracy has ever seen. And that’s exactly what he did.

Few could have risen to the challenge the way Joe Biden has. He has restored our economy, defended our freedoms, and protected democracy at home and abroad. He has led with decency, empathy and brought Americans together.

President Biden’s decision today not to seek reelection is the ultimate example of putting the country first — something Joe Biden has done over and over again in his unparalleled career. We are all deeply grateful to President Biden for his lifetime of service.

Thank you, Mr. President."

Earlier in July, Biden “saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years,” Healey said in a statement released to Politico on July 5. “The best way forward right now is a decision for the President to make. Over the coming days, I urge him to listen to the American people and carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump,”

What Sen. Ed Markey said

"From reunifying NATO, to passing the largest climate investment in our history, President Joe Biden has helped save democracy and the planet. He has a record unmatched in modern U.S. history, and I am forever grateful for his service and friendship," Senator Ed Markey, posted on X, the platform formerly called Twitter.

Earlier this week, Markey said the decision was up to Biden and his family during a tour of Gardner.

'Time to go in another direction': Central Mass. reaction to Biden's withdrawal

What Sen. Elizabeth Warren said

"Joe Biden’s presidency has been transformational. He accomplished more in the past four years — to bring back jobs, stand up to big corporations, and build an economy that works for all of us — than we have been able to get done in the last forty. He deserves full credit for beating Donald Trump in 2020, and his selfless decision today gives us our best shot at doing it again in 2024," Elizabeth Warren wrote on X.

"While Donald Trump tried to tear down our democracy to maintain his grip on power, Joe Biden willingly stepped aside in order to protect our democracy. President Biden’s selfless action is a profound gift to the people of the United States — and it’s on all of us not to waste it. I endorse Kamala Harris for President. She is a proven fighter who has been a national leader in safeguarding consumers and protecting access to abortion.

"As a former prosecutor, she can press a forceful case against allowing Donald Trump to regain the White House. We have many talented people in our party, but Vice President Harris is the person who was chosen by the voters to succeed Joe Biden if needed. She can unite our party, take on Donald Trump, and win in November.

What Congressman Jake Auchincloss said

"Joe Biden is the first president in U.S. history who has had to defend democracy at home & abroad simultaneously. He has done so admirably," Congressman Jake Auchincloss wrote on X. "Thank you for your service, Mr. President. Now let's win."

What Congresswoman Katherine Clark said

"Today’s announcement embodies President Biden's steadfast courage and patriotism. At every point in his remarkable career, Joe Biden has put his country first — advancing the project of democracy and meeting the needs of the American people," Rep. Katherine Clark wrote on X.

Clark is the Democratic Whip in the House.

"I am deeply grateful for @POTUS and his unfailing commitment to America. As he closes this chapter of unparalleled service to our country, his leadership and legacy of progress will chart the way toward a future that realizes our ideals of liberty and justice for all."

What Congressman Bill Keating said

Keating praised Biden as one of the "most effective Presidents in our history."

“Inflation is down, the stock market is at an all-time high, and Joe Biden's term as President has not just been a success, but a historic success in moving us from the economic and healthcare crisis of the pandemic to the number one economy in the world. As if the last four years didn't already make it clear, today firmly demonstrates that Joe Biden is the antithesis of Donald Trump, putting country ahead of personal ambition," said Keating in a statement provided to the Cape Cod Times.

“As our country faces threats to our personal, civil, and financial rights from the prospect of a Trump-Vance administration, I am excited to support Vice President Harris as our Democratic nominee," said Keating. "A Harris Presidency will protect women's reproductive rights, protect Medicare, and continue to cut prescription drug costs and expand healthcare access for all - and a Harris Presidency will keep our nation safer and more secure from global threats. As great as the accomplishments of the past three and a half years have been, Kamala Harris will take those successes forward into the next four years.”

What Congressman Seth Moulton said

"Proud of our president, who will go down in history as a great statesman, and proud to endorse our vice president, who has the energy, courage, and vision to beat Donald Trump. Now let's come together and get to work," Rep. Seth Moulton wrote on X Sunday.

Moulton had called for Biden to step down last week. On the Pod Save the World, he said, "The only chance we have is a change at the top of the ticket."

"The President has earned an amazing legacy. Now he can be remembered not just for leading serving as commander-in-chief, but also for giving it up," he wrote on Twitter, Friday.

What Congressman Richard Neil said

"As he has throughout his career in public service, @POTUS puts his country first. He will go down as one of America’s greatest leaders, delivering the world’s strongest economy & making historic investments in our workers, families, patients, & veterans. Thank you, Mr. President," said Rep. Richard Neal, on X.

What Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley said

Pressley, a Progressive Democrat, had said she supports Biden remaining at the top of the ticket, and had said "We're losing the plot here," according to ABC News earlier in the July. On Sunday, she released an endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden endorsed to run in his place.

"Thank you for your dedicated service President @JoeBiden. And KamalaHarris, I’m all in, let’s go. #BlackWomenLead," Pressley tweeted along with a photo of herself and Harris.

What Congresswoman Lori Trahan said

"Joe Biden saved our Democracy in 2020, and he has worked with House Democrats to deliver unprecedented progress for the American people. President Biden’s decision to pass the baton positions us to defeat Donald Trump again this November and build on the work we’ve done," wrote Rep. Lori Trahan on X.

"She continued by writing, 'Together with our strong, proven Vice President Kamala Harris, Democrats will make a clear, effective case to voters why our commitment to improving the lives of every American is the better choice than Donald Trump’s chaotic and extreme Republican Party."

Massachusetts Democratic Party issues statement

"President Joe Biden will go down in history as one of the greatest leaders our nation has ever had. In the decades that he has spent in service to the American people, there has been no one more committed to decency, no one more fluent in compassion, no one more fervent in his dedication to each and every cause that might improve the lives of the people he represents," reads a statement from the Massachusetts Democratic Party.

"It takes a man of great honor and breathtaking humility to commit his entire life to the service of others, and we are incredibly lucky to have a President who possesses perhaps the greatest trait of any leader; the willingness to relinquish a position of power and allow another to take his place," they wrote.

"The Biden Administration has been some of the most progressive years in our nation’s history. Joe Biden led us through a pandemic, codified same-sex marriage into law, championed student loan forgiveness, and passed a bipartisan infrastructure law that infused funds into countless communities. And he did it all with the same down-to-earth, empathetic style that caused the people of Delaware to elect him to the Senate back in 1972.

"And now, by making the selfless choice to step aside, he has set the Democratic Party on a course for the future in which all of us, everywhere, are motivated not by preservation of the status quo, but by those bold, decisive, but necessary actions by which we change society for the better.

"Joe Biden believes in a better world, in a world that views us all as equals and aims always to preserve our rights and freedom. Soon, there will be more to be said about the man he beat to take the White House, and the urgency of the work that must be done to ensure the poison he aims to spread across this country is resoundingly rejected. For now, though, our message is this: Thank you, President Biden."

What Trump's Massachusetts campaign chair Thomas Hodgson said

"I don’t think anybody expected it to be any different. The Democrat Party has been hiding what everybody else has seen for a long time: He’s not capable of being president for another term, and frankly he isn’t capable of being president right now. He is cognitively challenged, as everybody knows, and so for us — for America — that's not a good thing. Who knows how it will play out. If he continues to stay in there, as I said, it’s not a good thing. But given the fact that he's never there, he works limited hours, it’s the best thing that could happen, and frankly should have happened a lot sooner."

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: President Joe Biden drops out: Elizabeth Warren and MA leaders react