Embatlled US President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 race for the White House on Sunday, ending his bid for reelection, saying "it is in the best interest of my party and the country."
Biden's decision follows weeks of intense pressure from fellow Democrats after his disastrous presidential debate performance on June 27 against his Republican rival and former US president Donald Trump last month which had raised doubts about his fitness for office. During the debate, Biden had trailed off, often gave nonsensical answers and failed to call out the former president’s many falsehoods.
The 81-year-old president's decision comes four months before Americans go to the polls on November 5.
Biden plans to serve out the remainder of his term in office, which ends at noon on January 20, 2025.
Sunday's announcement was made by Biden in a letter shared on X. He wrote, "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.
"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 the duties as President for the remainder of my term".
Biden shared another post, accompanied by a photo of him with Vice-President Kamala Harris, whom he endorsed as the Democratic party's nominee for the presidential race. If nominated, she will be the first Black woman to run for the post in the country's history.
Stating that he would focus all his energies on his duties as President for the remainder of my term, he said, "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."
He is currently isolating at his home in Delaware because of COVID,
(With PTI and AP inputs)