Biden Bows Out, Endorses Kamala Harris For 2024 US Presidential Race

Washington: US President Joe Biden, in a surprise turn of events on Sunday, announced that he has pulled himself out from the 2024 United States Presidential race and will focus on the rest of his duties towards the nation. Shortly after dropping his name out of the US Presidential race, Joe Biden endorsed US vice-president Kamala Harris as his replacement for the Democratic party and extended his full support to her. In a post on X, President Biden said that he endorses Kamala Harris as the nominee of the Democratic party this year. The development comes after fellow Democrats lost faith in his mental acuity and ability to beat Republican candidate and former US President Donald Trump.

The decision came hours after the uproar over Biden's reelection bid showed no signs of abating Sunday with a fifth senator urging him to withdraw from the race and let Democrats hold an “open process” for a new nominee. The Biden campaign acknowledged “differing opinions” but said the party would unite to defeat Republican Donald Trump.

Biden Posts In Support Of Kamala Harris

Biden took to X to share his endorsement for her Deputy Kamala Harris. In a post on X, with an image of him with Kamala Harris, the US president wrote, “My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. 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. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” Biden added.

‘In The Best Interest of My Party And The Country’: Biden

Embattled US President Joe Biden announced his end for candidacy for re-election in 2024, saying, "It is in the best interest of my party and the country". His decision follows weeks of intense pressure from fellow Democrats after his disastrous presidential debate performance against his Republican rival and former US President Donald Trump last month. The 81-year-old president's decision comes four months before Americans go to the polls on November 5.

In a letter posted to his social media account, Biden, currently isolating at his home in Delaware because of COVID, said it had been the greatest honour of his life to serve as president. “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 the duties as President for the remainder of my term,” the US president asserted.

Biden said in his statement he would address the nation on the matter next week.

President Biden thanked his Vice President Kamala Harris, saying she was an "extraordinary partner". “It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President,” he wrote.

Trump Takes Aim At Kamala Harris

Donald Trump, meanwhile, said that he feels it will be easier to defeat Kamala Harris. His son, Don Jr, in a post on X, said, “Kamala Harris owns the entire leftwing policy record of Joe Biden. The only difference is that she is even more liberal and less competent than Joe, which is really saying something. She was put in charge of the border and we saw the worst invasion of illegals in our history!!!”

In more than two centuries of democracy, American voters have elected only one Black president and never a woman, a record that makes even some Black voters wonder if Harris can crash through the hardest ceiling in US politics.

Harris would face other big challenges: if promoted to the top of the ticket, she would have barely three months to campaign and unite the party and donors behind her. But many Democrats are excited about her chances.