Biden drops out of the 2024 presidential race, endorses Kamala Harris - MASHAHER

President Biden announced Sunday that he was pulling out of the 2024 campaign following a weeks-long pressure campaign from fellow Democrats that began in earnest following his much-criticized debate performance in late June.

“I believe it is in the the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down,” Biden said in a statement posted to X. He added that he plans to address the nation later this week, but made clear that he intends to finish out the last three months of his term in office.

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.

“Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump,” he wrote. “Let’s do this.”

Biden’s exit from the presidential race comes less than a month before the Democrats are scheduled to hold their nominating convention in Chicago starting on Aug. 19. It also raises questions about who will replace him at the top of the ticket, how that person will be picked and whether they have a better shot at defeating former President Donald Trump than the 81-year-old current president.

Here are the latest developments.

Live6 updates

Sun, July 21, 2024 at 2:28 PM EDT

Biden still has COVID, symptoms have ‘improved significantly’

President Biden is currently at his home in Rehoboth, Del., where he has been isolating after testing positive for COVID on Wednesday. Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s physician, issued a statement Sunday hours before the president announced he would be dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. O’Connor said Biden took his eighth dose of Paxlovid this morning and his symptoms have improved significantly. “His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal. His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear,” O’Connor wrote. “He continues to perform all of his presidential duties.”
Sun, July 21, 2024 at 2:22 PM EDT

Biden says he will finish out his term of office

In his statement announcing that he is dropping out of the 2024 race, President Biden made clear that he intends to finish out the last three months of his term in office.

“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,” Biden wrote

Hours earlier, Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, again made the case that if Biden were to drop out, it was a sign he was not “mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief.”

If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining President?

Not running for reelection would be a clear admission that President Trump was right all along about Biden not being mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief.

There is no middle ground.

— JD Vance (@JDVance1) July 21, 2024
Sun, July 21, 2024 at 2:21 PM EDT

Biden endorses Kamala Harris for president

Soon after announcing his decision to step down from the 2024 presidential race, President Joe Biden officially endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for president.

“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 shared on X, alongside a photo of him and Harris walking outside the White House.

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” he continued. “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.”

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… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
Sun, July 21, 2024 at 2:17 PM EDT

Newsom responds to Biden stepping down: ‘History-making president’

California Gov. Gavin Newsom. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)

California Governor Gavin Newsom addressed Biden’s decision to step down from the 2024 presidential race.

“President Biden has been an extraordinary, history-making president — a leader who has fought hard for working people and delivered astonishing results for all Americans,” he wrote on X. “He will go down in history as one of the most impactful and selfless presidents.”

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Sun, July 21, 2024 at 2:12 PM EDT

Biden’s granddaughter Naomi calls him ‘the most effective president of our lifetime’

Biden’s eldest granddaughter Naomi Biden, the daughter of Hunter Biden, said she’s “nothing but proud” of her grandfather after he announced his decision to step down from the 2024 presidential race.

“I’m nothing but proud today of my Pop, our President, Joe Biden, who has served our country with every bit of his soul and with unmatched distinction,” she wrote on X. “Not only has he been — and will continue to be — the most effective president of our lifetime, but he has likely already cemented himself as the most effective and impactful public servant in our nation’s history.”

She continued, “Our world is better today in so many ways thanks to him. To the Americans who have always had his back, keep the faith. He will always have ours.”

I’m nothing but proud today of my Pop, our President, Joe Biden, who has served our country with every bit of his soul and with unmatched distinction. Not only has he been—and will continue to be—the most effective president of our lifetime, but he has likely already cemented…

— Naomi Biden (@NaomiBiden) July 21, 2024
Sun, July 21, 2024 at 2:03 PM EDT

Joe Biden officially drops out of 2024 presidential race

President Biden delivers remarks on the assassination attempt on Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump at the White House on July 14. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

President Biden has officially dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden wrote in an open letter shared on social media. “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.”

Biden added that he will address the nation later this week to discuss his decision “in more detail.”

“For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected,” the statement read. “I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.”

Biden continued, “I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do — when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America.”