President Joe Biden has ended his reelection bid following weeks of mounting calls for his resignation.
In a statement Sunday afternoon, Biden said he would be stepping down as the Democratic nominee for the good of his party and the United States, committing to focusing his attention on serving out his presidential term.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” he wrote. “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.”
In a follow-up post on social media, Biden endorsed his vice-president, Kamala Harris, to run for president in his place.
“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President,” he wrote “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.”
Biden has faced private and public pressure to step down, increasingly since an abysmal debate performance against Republican nominee Donald Trump last month. Biden presented as incoherent and unintelligible at times, raising questions about his cognitive capacity and ability to serve as president and defeat Trump in November’s elections.
Democrats have also been frustrated with Biden’s poor polling against Trump. The gap between the two candidates has widened since Trump survived an assassination attempt in Butler, Penn. last week.
This week, top Democrats Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer, the former House speaker and current Senate minority leader, respectively, voiced their concerns over Biden’s candidacy.
In a statement, Trump said he was ready to “remedy the damage” Biden has done.
“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve – and never was!” the former president wrote. “He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement. All those around him, including his Doctor and the Media, knew that he wasn’t capable of being President, and he wasn’t.”
The Democrats will formally nominate their candidate at their convention in Chicago next month.
