US President Joe Biden has ended his campaign up for re-election on Sunday after his fellow Democrats lost faith in his mental acuity and ability to defeat Donald Trump, leaving the presidential race in uncharted territory.
Biden said in an X post that 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 I intended to run for re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country that I step down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term," Biden wrote.
By withdrawing his bid for re-election, he clears the way for Vice President Kamala Harris to run at the top of the ticket - the first black woman to do so in the country'
Biden, 81, did not mention her when announcing his move.
It was unclear whether other top Democrats would challenge Harris, who was widely seen as the choice of many party officials -- or whether the party itself would decide to open the nomination field.
Biden's announcement follows a wave of public and private pressure from Democratic lawmakers and party officials to drop out of the race after his shockingly poor performance in a televised debate against Republican rival Donald Trump last month.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024