US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would not seek re-election, citing concerns within his party about his mental acuity and ability to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump. Instead, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for the 2024 presidential election.
In a statement on social media
platform X, Biden, 81, confirmed he would remain in office until the end of his
term in January 2025 and plans to address the nation later this week. "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 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," he wrote.
Biden initially did not mention
Harris in his statement but later expressed his support for her candidacy.
Harris, 59, would make history as the first Black woman to lead a major-party
ticket in the US.
The decision follows
significant pressure from Democratic lawmakers and officials after Biden's poor
performance in a televised debate with Trump on June 27. Biden's difficulty in
completing clear sentences drew attention away from Trump's false statements,
raising concerns about Biden's fitness for another term.
Further gaffes, including
mixing up the names of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President
Volodymyr Zelenskiy and referring to Harris as "Vice President Trump"
during a NATO summit, added to the unease within the party.
Biden's announcement comes just
days after being diagnosed with COVID-19 for the third time, leading to a
cut-short campaign trip to Las Vegas. Public and private calls from Democratic
members of Congress for Biden to step aside increased amid his struggles in the
polls against Trump.
This unprecedented move marks
the first time a sitting president has withdrawn from a re-election campaign
since Lyndon Johnson in 1968. With less than four months until the election,
Harris faces the challenge of uniting the party and gaining voter support.
If Harris becomes the nominee,
it would be a historic moment for the Democratic Party, with their first Black
and Asian American woman running for the White House. Biden, the oldest US
president ever elected, had previously described himself as a bridge to the
next generation of Democratic leaders, initially indicating he might serve only
one term.
Despite setting his sights on a
second term, believing he was the only Democrat capable of defeating Trump
again, Biden's age and health became increasingly apparent. His team had hoped
for a strong debate performance to allay concerns, but a Reuters/Ipsos poll
showed 40% of Democrats thought he should withdraw from the race.
Donor revolt and growing
support for Harris among party members led to key Democrats, including Nancy
Pelosi, advising Biden that he could not win. Polls showed Trump widening his
lead in battleground states, heightening fears of a significant Democratic loss
in both the House and Senate.
Biden’s exit leaves Harris in a potentially contentious primary race, as other senior Democrats may challenge her for the nomination. The Democratic National Convention in August will play a crucial role in determining the party's candidate.
Biden defeated Trump in 2020
with narrow victories in battleground states like Pennsylvania and Georgia,
winning the popular vote by over 7 million. However, his firm support for
Israel's military actions in Gaza, coupled with declining enthusiasm among
young, progressive Democrats and voters of color, weakened his position.
As the Democratic Party
navigates this transition, Harris, a former prosecutor, stands poised to face
Trump, 78, who is entangled in multiple criminal prosecutions related to his
efforts to overturn the 2020 election results.
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