Joe Biden pulls out of US presidential race
United States President Biden said in a letter on X that he is stepping aside as a candidate for the 2024 presidential election and backs Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democratic nominee.
The announcement on Sunday by the oldest sitting president in US history came amid mounting pressure from his fellow Democrats, with more than 30 Congress members publicly pushing for his exit.
In a post on X, he said he will remain in his role as president and commander-in-chief until his term ends in January 2025 and will address the nation this week.
“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.
Biden’s move – the first sitting president to give up his party’s nomination for re-election since President Lyndon Johnson in March 1968 – leaves his replacement with less than four months to wage a campaign.
Only four days before Sunday’s announcement, Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19 for a third time, forcing him to cut short a campaign trip to Las Vegas. More than one in 10 congressional Democrats had called publicly for him to quit the race.
