Joe Biden, the President of the United States, has withdrawn from the presidential race and is supporting his Vice President, Kamala Harris, as the Democratic presidential candidate.
In a letter posted on the social media platform X on Sunday, Joe Biden stated: ‘I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.’ He also promised to elaborate on the details of his decision in a speech to the nation later this week.
In another message posted on social media, the Democratic President announced his full support for Kamala Harris’s candidacy and urged unity within the Democratic Party to defeat Donald Trump.
Kamala Harris, in her statement, said it was an honour receiving Joe Biden’s support and promised to earn and secure the nomination. According to Democratic Party rules, Joe Biden cannot officially transfer the presidential nomination, as it must be decided by delegate votes at the nominating convention, where a majority must be secured. The Democratic Party will hold its national nominating convention in Chicago from 19-22 August.
Former President Barack Obama responded to Joe Biden’s withdrawal by praising the current President’s decision. He stated that he is highly confident that the party will develop a process for transferring the nomination and that they will have an excellent candidate. Obama, who served as President of the United States from 2009 to 2017 with Biden as his Vice President, noted that ‘we will be navigating uncharted waters in the coming days,’
but has not yet endorsed Kamala Harris’s candidacy.
Another former Democratic President and presidential candidate, Bill Clinton, and his wife, Hillary Clinton, who served as Secretary of State under Barack Obama, endorsed Kamala Harris’s candidacy on Sunday.
Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic Majority Leader, praised Joe Biden’s presidential and previous legislative work and wrote that the decision was not easy, but the incumbent President prioritized the country, the party, and the future.
In the days leading up to Joe Biden’s withdrawal, Democratic Party sources reported that Schumer and Obama had urged the President to step aside, believing that his chances of leading the party to victory in the November election were slim.
Donald Trump responded to his former rival’s withdrawal on social media, stating that Joe Biden was never fit to run for the presidency or to fulfil the duties of the office.
The former President then also stated that Kamala Harris will be even easier to defeat than Biden would have been.
The Biden campaign team had persisted in the race until the last moments. Press reports have even suggested that
the White House staff learned about the President’s decision reading his post on X,
being officially informed in an e-mail sent barely a minute before the announcement was made.
Since 27 June, following a disastrous performance in a debate with Donald Trump, Joe Biden has faced increasing pressure from his party, elected members of Congress, former officials, and financial supporters of the Democratic Party to withdraw from the candidacy.
In American politics, it has been decades since an incumbent President stepped down from seeking re-election. The last instance was in 1968 when President Lyndon Johnson announced his withdrawal.
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