US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he is withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race as the Democratic candidate.
In a heartfelt letter released on Twitter/X, Biden said it was “in the best interest” of the country for him to bow out.
“While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for my term,” Biden wrote.
He said he would address the nation later this week.
The announcement comes several weeks after the US president’s disastrous debate performance against Republican nominee Donald Trump, which turned whispers about his age and fitness into a roar.
Shortly after the announcement, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination, although Biden cannot appoint a nominee.
A source familiar said Biden and Harris spoke ahead of his announcement. An emergency meeting was held between senior Democratic National Committee members on Sunday, CBS reported.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” Biden posted on social media. “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.”
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. 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… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
Harris issued a statement on Sunday saying she is “honoured to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”
“Over the past year, I have travelled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election,” Harris said. “And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.”
Harris thanked Biden, calling his decision to step aside a “selfless and patriotic act.”
Trump, who accepted the Republican nomination on Thursday, told CNN after the decision that Biden is the “worst president by far in the history of our country,” but he said that he thought if Harris is the nominee, she would be easier to beat.
DNC chair Jaime Harrison said on Sunday that “in the coming days, the Party will undertake a transparent and orderly process to move forward as a united Democratic Party with a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump in November.”
“This process will be governed by established rules and procedures of the Party. Our delegates are prepared to take seriously their responsibility in swiftly delivering a candidate to the American people,” Harrison said.
DNC executive committee member Alan Clendenin of Florida said he expects a “supermajority” of delegates to coalesce around Harris in the coming days.
“The delegates at the convention are the ones who place our candidate on the ballot,” Clendenin said. “If Biden was still on the ticket, that was going to be the process.”
Never before has a sitting president and presumptive nominee exited the race so late in the process, highlighting the severity of the crisis that engulfed Biden’s campaign after his disastrous debate performance against Trump.
In the days following the debate, a growing chorus of Democrats openly voiced concerns over the president’s health and mental state, his ability to defeat Trump in November, and his capacity to lead the country for another term.
The pressure to step aside steadily increased as Democratic lawmakers and governors went days without hearing from Biden directly, allowing questions about his future to swirl within the party ranks.
A growing number of Democrats on Capitol Hill publicly called for him to withdraw.
In the weeks after the debate, the president attempted to push back, insisting in a series of public appearances and meetings with Democratic elected officials that he was committed to staying in the race. “I’m not going anywhere,” he vowed. However, even longtime allies began to urge him to drop out
Ultimately, the pressure became insurmountable, with top Democrats in Congress advising Mr. Biden to step aside and allow a replacement to face off against Trump in November.
