People in Baltimore react to President Biden dropping out of the 2024 election

On Sunday, President Biden stepped out of the race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, and many people are excited about it.

“Thank God, honestly, no. With the way that the election has been going over the past couple of weeks, it’s been kind of terrifying, and I generally did not think that he could beat Trump," says Cassie Kemp.

WMAR spoke with John Willis, a long-time political analyst and professor at the University of Baltimore, who says this decision was monumental.

“I’m proud of the president for making the decision which will allow the 2024 election cycle to be reset," says Willis.

He says the focus of the election will shift going forward, focusing more on the political stance of the candidates on each issue.

“And so now we get a chance to talk about real issues. Talk about the platforms of the parties; contrast now who’s the old person in the race. Donald Trump is 78 years old; he's suddenly now by decades the oldest person in the race, and so we’ve changed the conversation," says John Willis.

John Willis also says the recent developments in this election cycle remind him of 1968, when Lyndon B. Johnson resigned out of the election, the same year as the assassinations of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy.

Willis says, although this is a sudden change just over 100 days from the November elections, he expects a high voter turnout at the polls this year.

“We had the highest turnout ever in an American politics in 2020. I think we’re gonna be high again this year," says John Willis.