NEWS: President Biden ends bid for re-election in 2024 – National and International News – SUNDAY July 21, 2024 –

President Joe Biden has officially ended his campaign for re-election in 2024. In a separate statement, he appears to be endorsing VP Kamala Harris.

President Biden ends bid for re-election in 2024

After weeks of speculation and mounting pressure from his Democratic colleagues, President Joe Biden issued a a statement on Twitter today announcing that he would withdraw as the 2024 Democratic presidential nominee. Biden is still recovering from COVID and will give a speech later this week to provide more details.

In the statement, which touted Biden's political achievements, Biden said: “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president. And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country that I step down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”

The language echoes the sentiments of many Democrats, who had called for him to resign after last month's debate with former President Trump, in which Biden at times struggled to communicate clearly. Calls for his resignation grew louder and more numerous in the following weeks due to a number of other blunders in interviews and public appearances.

Harris endorsement

In a special statement on Twitter, Biden appears to be backing his vice president, Kamala Harris, to take his place as his party's nominee. There has been much speculation about who might replace him and what process would be used to select a replacement. Biden's endorsement of Harris could make that process more straightforward, since only Biden has the power to direct his delegates.

In the polls, Harris performs better against Trump than Biden. There are other Democrats on the national stage who are performing better than Harris. However, none of these potential candidates are currently favored to defeat Trump.

Some Democratic operatives have suggested that the selection of a new vice presidential candidate could present an opportunity to generate more voter enthusiasm for the 2024 Democratic Party ticket.

Click here for the full story (opens in new tab).