Breaking News: President Biden Drops Out of Race and Endorses VP Harris to be Nominee
According to CNN:
President Joe Biden says he is not seeking reelection in a letter posted to his official account on X. In a second post, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden wrote. “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 says he will speak to the nation later this week in more detail.
In his follow-up post, Biden praised Harris and urged Democrats to unite behind her. “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” Biden wrote. “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.”
Biden’s departure capped off weeks of concern about the 81-year-old president’s stamina and mental capabilities and skepticism of his ability to effectively campaign against former President Donald Trump and govern the country for another four years. Biden’s decision is also likely to raise questions about his ability to fulfill the duties of the presidency for the remainder of his term.
It’s the first time a US president has dropped out of a reelection run in decades, recalling memories of President Lyndon Johnson deciding against seeking a second full term in 1968 – though Biden’s decision comes months later in the campaign than Johnson’s announcement. It’s also the latest shocking development in a highly charged political campaign that has included an attempt on Trump’s life.
But not even the attempted assassination and its tumultuous effect on the race could pause the loss of support Biden was facing among congressional Democrats who became increasingly convinced that a wipeout in November would also drown their down-ballot contests as well.
It sets the stage for the conclusion to a political career that has spanned a half-century, one that saw Biden enter as one of the youngest senators in US history and exit as its oldest president.
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