Biden Drops Out of Presidential Race In 'Party And Country's Interest', Endorses Kamala Harris As Democratic Nominee

Joe Biden's withdrawl comes just months before the the November election against Republican candidate Donald Trump, a candidate he has warned is an existential threat to American democracy.

File photo of US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Source : X/Kamala Harris

President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he will not seek reelection amid concerns over his health and pressure following a disastrous debate performance last month. 

The decision comes amid mounting pressure from Biden's Democratic allies inlcuding former President Obama to step aside following the June 27 debate, in which the 81-year-old president gave nonsensical answers and failed to call out Trump's many falsehoods.

Biden's withdrawl comes just months before the the November election against Donald Trump, a candidate he has warned is an existential threat to American democracy.

pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, 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 the remainder of my term," Biden wrote in a letter posted to his X account.

"While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term," he added.

He said he will speak to the nation in more detail later this week. He plans to serve out the remainder of his term in office, which ends on Jan 20, 2025.

Biden Endorses Kamala Harris

Joe Biden, in a subsequent post on X, endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democractic nominee against Trump.

"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 decision I’ve made," Biden said.

 

"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," he added.

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

The 95 percent of delegates who pledged to support Joe Biden following his victory in the Democratic primaries are now able to vote for a different candidate.

Roughly 4,000 Democratic delegates will convene next month to choose a new nominee and Kamala Harris will arrive in Chicago as an early favorite in the race to replace Biden.