Joe Biden withdraws from US election and endorses Kamala Harris

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US President Joe Biden has abandoned his re-election bid after intense pressure from fellow Democrats and backed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him, saying it was “in the best interests of my party and the country that I resign”.

The president announced his decision to withdraw from the race in a letter posted on social media on Sunday, canceling this year’s race. White House Contest plunged into turmoil with less than four months to go before voters in the world’s largest economy elect a new leader on November 5.

“Serving as your president has been the greatest honor of my life,” Biden “And while I intend to run for re-election, I believe it is in the best interests of the party and the country for me to step down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” he said.

The president added that he would speak to the country “later this week in more detail about my decision.” Biden has not been seen in public since Wednesday, when he was diagnosed with Covid-19.

In a second social media post, he said he would “fully support and endorse Kamala to be our party’s candidate this year”.

“Democrats — it’s time to come together and defeat Trump,” Biden added. “Let’s do this.”

Harris later issued her own statement saying she was “honored” to receive Biden’s support, adding: “My goal is to win this nomination.

“I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our country — to defeat Donald Trump,” she added.

Harris, who would become the country’s first female president if she wins, quickly won the support of a number of influential Democrats.

Former President Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton issued a joint statement saying they were “honored to join the president in endorsing Vice President Harris,” adding that they would “do everything we can to support her.”

Gavin Newsom, the governor of California, and Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan — both considered potential presidential candidates — are also expected to back Harris, three prominent Democratic donors and operatives with direct knowledge of the matter said. Representatives for Newsom and Whitmer did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Barack Obama, who chose Biden as his vice president in 2008, issued a statement calling him “one of America’s most influential presidents, as well as a close friend and partner.” Obama did not endorse his successor, but said he was “extremely confident that our party’s leaders will be able to create a process that will result in an outstanding nominee.”

Democrats will need to rally support for a new presidential nominee in the weeks leading up to the party’s formal nominating convention on August 19. Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison said Sunday that the party will “move quickly” to outline “next steps and a path forward for the nomination process.”

Biden’s unprecedented decision will reverberate around the globe, injecting new uncertainty into US policy at a time of rising geopolitical tensions, from the Indo-Pacific to Ukraine and the Middle East.

Biden’s announcement comes after more than three weeks of fierce debate among Democrats over his candidacy following a disastrous debate with Donald Trump raising concerns about the 81-year-old’s sanity and damaging his standing among American voters. An Associated Press poll released last week found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats said Biden should drop out of the race.

Trump has opened up a significant gap over Biden in national and swing-state polls in recent weeks. In a statement posted to his Truth Social platform on Sunday, he said Biden was “unfit to run for president” and “certainly unfit to serve.”

Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson issued a statement calling on Biden to resign as president immediately.

“If Joe Biden is not qualified to run for president, he is not qualified to be president,” Johnson said.

But Biden’s decision earned him immediate praise from several senior Democrats, including Senate leader Chuck Schumer, who described him as a “great president… a great legislative leader” and “a truly wonderful human being”.

“Of course, his decision was not an easy one, but once again he put his country, his party and our future first.”

Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic leader of the House of Representatives, said the country will be “forever grateful” to Biden for his leadership.

The 46th US president’s decision not to seek a second term marks the beginning of the end of one of Washington’s most illustrious political careers. Biden entered the Senate in 1973, became Obama’s vice president in 2009 and won the Oval Office in 2020 in an era marked by a global pandemic, economic recovery, inflation and war.