President Biden announces he is dropping out of presidential race

Politics

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden said in a statement posted to X.

President Joe Biden will withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, he announced on Sunday.

In a statement posted on X, Biden said serving as president has been “the greatest honor of (his) life.”

“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,” he wrote.

The announcement comes after weeks of mounting pressure for Biden, 81, to end his candidacy after a poor election performance fueled concerns about his age and health.

“I will speak to the National later this week in more detail about my decision,” he wrote.

In a post on X sent 30 minutes after his initial announcement, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democrat’s 2024 nominee.

“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 wrote, including a link to donate to her campaign.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.