Joe Biden Drops Out Of US Presidential Race

US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he is dropping out of the US presidential race. The 81-year-old said in a statement that his withdrawal was "in the best interest of my party and the country." Biden also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him as the Democratic candidate. Biden took this extraordinary decision amid escalating pressure from his Democratic allies to step aside. 

"It has been the greatest honour 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 for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," Joe Biden added in the written statement he posted in X on July 21. The US President also said that he will speak to the nation later this week in more detail about his decision. "I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can't do - when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America," Biden added.

Joe Biden, who is recovering from COVID-19, had previously declared multiple times that he would remain in the presidential race and was confident that he could defeat Donald Trump. However, Democratic congressional members and supporters urged Biden to step aside from his Democratic candidacy. At the same time, it still remains unclear if Kamala Harris will become the nominee of the party. However, Kamala Harris accepted Biden's endorsement and said in a post on X that she would seek the Democratic Party’s nomination. "I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination," said Kamala Harris.