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President Biden is officially out of the Presidential election. In a historic and stunning move, the President released a statement Sunday announcing that he’s ending his bid for reelection and endorsing Kamala Harris.
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“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” he shared on X, formerly known as Twitter. “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 my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
USA Today reports that Vice President Kamala Harris is seen as the Democrat “best placed to take Biden’s place atop the party’s ticket” and President Biden seemingly agrees.
In a follow-up statement, Biden added that he’s endorsing his Vice President to be the Democratic nominee.
“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,” he wrote. “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.”
He continued,
“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 stood strong amid weeks of pressure from Democrats calling for his exit publicly and privately.
NewsOne reports that more than 30 Democratic lawmakers had called on Biden to stand down as the nominee. Privately, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) reportedly spoke with Biden directly about their concerns about his chances in November against Trump, reported NBC.
Ultimately, Democratic delegates will decide who will replace Biden at the top of the ticket before or at August’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Kamala Harris has yet to respond to President Biden’s statement.
This story is still developing…
Source: Andrew Harnik / Getty
