US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday (21) that he will withdraw from running for re-election. In a post on the social network X, Biden said he believes that, despite his intention to seek a new term, it is in the best interest of the Democratic Party and the country to withdraw his candidacy. He then said that he will focus on his work as president until the end of his term in January 2025.
“It has been the greatest honor 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 interests of my party and country that I step aside and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in a letter posted on social media.
In the letter posted today, he said he will address the nation later this week, giving more details about his decision. However, in another post on X, the president announced his support for the nomination of Vice President Kamala Harris to face Republican Donald Trump.
“My first decision as the party’s nominee in 2020 was to choose Kamala Harris as my vice president. And it was the best decision I have ever made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be our party’s nominee this year.”
Biden’s announcement follows a wave of public and private pressure from Democratic lawmakers and party insiders for him to drop out of the race after a poor performance in a televised debate last month against Republican rival Donald Trump.
In today’s letter, Biden said the United States has made great progress in the past three and a half years, citing expanded access to health care, gun legislation and the appointment of the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.
In a typical end-of-term speech, the president also highlighted the strengthening of democracy and his country’s relations with other nations. “The United States has never been better positioned to lead than we are today. I know that none of this could have been done without the American people. Together we overcame a pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.
We protect and preserve our democracy and revitalize and strengthen our alliances around the world.”
Donald Trump
Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump told CNN on Sunday that he thinks it will be easier to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris in the November election than it would be to defeat Joe Biden.
*With information from Reuters
** Article expanded at 4:25 p.m. to add information
