MANDEL NGAN-AFP
US President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he is dropping out of his reelection battle with Donald Trump, in a historic move that plunges the already turbulent 2024 White House race into uncharted territory.
"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 focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," Biden said in a letter posted on X.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
The 81-year-old president who is recovering from Covid-19 rattled Democrats over the last month following his disastrous debate performance against rival Donald Trump.
Biden sparked concerns about his health and calls from Democrats for him to step aside grew louder this week.
Earlier this month, a defiant Biden was closing out NATO's three-day 75th-anniversary summit in Washington, where he mistakenly called Ukraine's leader Voldymyr Zelensky, President Putin.
The US President was already under intense scrutiny over his mental fitness to serve when he also mistakenly referred to his Vice President Kamala Harris as "Vice President Trump."
The stunning move makes Biden the first president in US history to pull out so late in an election race, and the first to bow out because of concerns over his mental acuity and health.
Biden spent more than three weeks resisting calls to step down following the shock of the June 27 debate, at one point insisting that only the "Lord Almighty" could convince him to back out.
Americans go to the polls in November.
While Harris struggled to make an impact in her first years in the White House, she has emerged in the last year as a strong performer on the campaign trail on key messages such as abortion rights.
The former prosecutor has also made much of her life story as the first woman in US history to hold the vice presidency, as well as the first person of Black and South Asian origin.
Harris is now set to be nominated at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on August 19 in what promises to be a dramatic moment and a heartrending one for Biden.
