U.S President, Joe Biden Drops Out Of Presidential Race

Biden endorses Kamala Harris as his replacement.

In stunning turn of events, U.S president Joe Biden says he is pulling out of the 2024 Presidential Race following a week-long pressure campaign from fellow Democrats.

In a statement posted on X on Sunday , Biden said he believed it was in the best interest of his party and the country for him to stand down, adding that he would address the nation later this week.

The latest development comes four months before Americans go to the polls, upending the race for the White House. Biden’s exit from the presidential race also comes less than a month before the Democrats are scheduled to hold their nominating convention in Chicago starting on Aug. 19.

There have been weeks of intense pressure from fellow Democrats after a faltering debate performance against Republican Donald Trump at the end of June. During the debate he was criticised for often being incoherent and speaking in a weak voice.

Following it, there were growing calls from within his own party for the eighty-one year old President to stand aside, with a growing number of congressional Democrats worried his campaign would hurt their own re-election chances in November.

In a separate post following the announcement, Biden wrote that he is endorsing his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the Democratic nominee for president. But while Kamala Harris has the backing of the current president, it is unclear at the moment if she will be selected unopposed as the new candidate.

President Joe Biden however made clear that he intends to finish out the last three months of his term in office. The focus will now be on the Democratic National Convention which takes place next month in Chicago.

There are implications for this latest move. If Kamala Harris doesn’t succeed in uniting the party, the convention could turn into a political free-for-all, with various candidates vying for the nomination before the cameras and behind closed doors.