President Joe Biden on July 3 at the White House. Photo Courtesy of Doug Mills/The New York Times.
By Amanda Brucculeri
Boston University News Service
President Joe Biden has announced that he is leaving the 2024 race in a statement today via social media. The announcement comes weeks after his performance in the debate led Democrats to question his ability to serve a second term as president.
“I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down,” Biden said in his statement.
“I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do – when we do it together,” Biden said. “We just have to remember we are the United States of America.”
In a separate tweet posted shortly after, Biden declared that he would be endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee.
“Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this,” Biden said at the end of his tweet.
Harris will be able to use the funds under the Biden-Harris campaign for her own presidential effort, since their campaign was registered with the Federal Election Commission under both of their names.
In a phone call with CNN, former President Donald Trump said that he believed Harris will be easier to defeat than Biden would have been. He also added that Biden “goes down as the single worst president by far in the history of our country.”
At 81 years old, Biden is the oldest sitting president in history, and concerns about his age have been circulating since he announced his reelection campaign.
