Biden quits presidential race towards Donald Trump

President Joe Biden mentioned Sunday that he’ll drop out of the 2024 presidential race, a shocking resolution that got here after weeks of strain for the 81-year-old Democrat to stop the competition towards former President Donald Trump.

“It has been the best honor of my life to function your President,” Biden wrote in a put up on the social media website X.

“And whereas it has been my intention to hunt reelection, I imagine it’s in the very best curiosity of my occasion and the nation for me to face down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the rest of my time period,” Biden wrote.

“I’ll communicate to the Nation later this week in additional element about my resolution.”

Biden’s announcement got here as a rising variety of his fellow Democrats, referred to as on him to step apart to permit the occasion to pick a brand new nominee subsequent month to run towards the Republican Trump.

The president’s resolution blows open the presidential race lower than 4 months earlier than Election Day. It additionally poses extraordinary questions and challenges for the Democratic occasion, which now should scramble to assemble a brand new presidential ticket.

The following candidate might want to compete towards the Republican ticket of Trump and Sen. JD Vance, win over donors, delegates and different allies who had been loyal to the incumbent — all whereas convincing voters of their very own worthiness for the nation’s highest workplace.

However a rising variety of prime Democrats have made clear in latest weeks that they like that daunting process to preserving Biden as their nominee.

Biden’s marketing campaign didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

The 81-year-old president began to hemorrhage assist from his personal occasion after his catastrophic debate efficiency towards Trump in late June.

Whereas he’s solely three years older than Trump, Biden regarded and sounded considerably worse on the controversy stage. He displayed a stiff posture and generally vacant-looking gaze, and he regularly gave solutions that had been raspy, unclear and unimpactful.

In each substance and look Biden contrasted sharply with Trump, who regarded and sounded the identical as he has in recent times.

The talk immediately set off a disaster amongst Democrats. Even earlier than it ended, occasion operatives had been elevating doubts about whether or not Biden may successfully marketing campaign towards Trump.

Excessive-profile Democratic donors and backers overtly urged Biden to drop out, with some vowing to withhold marketing campaign contributions within the meantime.

Days after the controversy, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas turned the primary sitting Democrat in Congress to name on Biden to withdraw from the race. Practically 20 others quickly adopted swimsuit, together with Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont and Rep. Adam Schiff of California.

Biden and his aides spent weeks making an attempt to stanch the bleeding. In his first post-debate interview, Biden mentioned he was satisfied that he’s the very best individual to tackle Trump, including that he may solely be persuaded to step down “if the Lord Almighty comes out and tells me that.”

However as his resolute posture did not quell the unrest in his occasion, Biden instructed he might be moved to withdraw in different methods.

In a BET interview that aired Wednesday through the Republican Nationwide Conference, Biden mentioned he would possibly rethink his resolution to remain within the race “if I had some medical situation that emerged.”

On the identical day that interview was set for broadcast, Biden examined optimistic for Covid-19. He canceled a scheduled look in Las Vegas and returned dwelling to Delaware.

Biden is already the oldest individual ever to serve within the White Home, and he would have been 86 on the finish of a second time period. He had weathered questions about his bodily and psychological health even throughout his 2020 run.

These issues grew within the 2024 cycle, however they had been aggressively batted down by Biden’s marketing campaign and White Home aides, and the president’s relative lack of press conferences and interviews could have shielded scrutiny about his acuity.

That is breaking information. Please test again for updates.