U.S. President Joe Biden ended his reelection campaign on Sunday after fellow Democrats expressed concerns about his mental acuity and ability to defeat Donald Trump. He did not immediately endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.
Biden, 81, announced on X that he will continue to serve as president and commander-in-chief until his term ends in January 2025 and plans to address the nation this week.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. While I intended to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to step down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote.
Biden’s decision could pave the way for Harris to run as the first Black woman at the top of the ticket, though he did not mention her in his announcement. It remains unclear whether other senior Democrats will challenge Harris for the party’s nomination or if the party will open the field for nominations.
Biden’s announcement follows significant pressure from Democratic lawmakers and party officials to withdraw after his poor performance in a June 27 debate against Republican rival Trump, 78. Biden’s frequent lapses in clarity overshadowed Trump’s false statements, raising questions about Biden’s fitness for another term.
Concerns grew after Biden’s recent gaffes at a NATO summit, where he mistakenly invoked Russian President Vladimir Putin’s name instead of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and referred to Harris as “Vice President Trump.”
Additionally, Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19 for the third time, forcing him to cut short a campaign trip to Las Vegas. More than one in 10 congressional Democrats had publicly called for him to exit the race.
Biden’s historic decision makes him the first sitting president to relinquish his party’s nomination for re-election since President Lyndon Johnson in March 1968, leaving his successor with less than four months to campaign.
