US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris posted on X
US President Joe Biden announced on social media platform X that he had decided to drop out of the presidential race.
Biden posted on Sunday that he had decided not to accept the nomination to run for a second term as the Democratic presidential candidate in the US 2024 elections.
“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 posted.
“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.”
In the letter he addressed to “My Fellow Americans” Biden wrote that over the past three and a half years the country had “made great progress as a nation”.
“Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We have made historic investments in rebuilding our nation, in lowering prescription drugs costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years, appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court and passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world,” Biden posted.
Biden noted his belief that the country is in a better place than before and it was thanks to the American people. He said the country overcame a “once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression”. He said America had “protected and preserved our democracy, and we’ve revitalized (sic) and strengthened our alliances around the world.”
“It has been the greatest honor (sic) of my life to serve as your President. And 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 the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote.
Biden said he would address the nation later this week in more detail about his decision.
“For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me re-elected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work, and let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me. I believe today, what I always have, that there is nothing America can’t do when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America,” Biden posted.
According to CNN, Biden has offered his endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris as a replacement nominee, and a senior Democratic official told the broadcaster that they believe other party leaders will follow suit.
Reacting to the news in a telephone interview with CNN former President Donald Trump described Biden as going “down as the single worst president by far in the history of our country”. Trump added that he thinks Vice President Kamala Harris will be easier to defeat than Biden would have been as an opponent in the 2024 election race.