President Biden announced Sunday that he was pulling out of the 2024 race 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 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.”
In her own statement, Harris said she was “honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”
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 that person has a better shot at defeating former President Donald Trump than the 81-year-old current president.