Joe Biden announces he will not seek reelection in 2024 presidential race; endorses Harris

By Daniel Payne

President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he would not seek reelection, yielding to increasing calls within his party to step aside following a heavily criticized debate against GOP nominee Donald Trump in June.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president,” Biden stated in a July 21 announcement on X. “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 step down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term.”

Biden mentioned that he would address the nation later in the week to elaborate on his decision.

In a subsequent X post, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the presidency in the 2024 election. “My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my vice president,” he remarked. “And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.”

For the past month, Biden has faced mounting pressure from within his party and supporters to withdraw from the 2024 race due to concerns about his ability to serve another four years as president. The alarm was raised by Democratic officials and major party supporters after the first 2024 presidential debate last month, during which Biden struggled with coherence and articulating his vision for the country.

Numerous Democratic U.S. senators and members of the U.S. House, including California Rep. Adam Schiff, have called for Biden to withdraw from the race. Media reports have suggested that prominent figures such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and former President Barack Obama have also urged Biden to step aside.

High-ranking donors and supporters have distanced themselves from the Democratic Party amid fears that Biden’s continued candidacy could harm down-ballot candidates. Actor George Clooney, a longtime Democratic fundraiser, stated in the New York Times earlier this month that Democrats are “not going to win in November with this president.” Clooney encouraged top Democrats to “ask this president to voluntarily step aside” to allow the party to nominate another candidate.

Significant donors have also withdrawn financial support from Democratic campaigns to pressure Biden to exit the race. Filmmaker Abigail Disney announced this month that she would halt all Democratic donations “unless and until they replace Biden at the top of the ticket.”

The New York Times reported that major donors were withholding approximately $90 million from a Biden super PAC until the president withdrew from the race.

This story was first published by Catholi News Agency, EWTN Norway`s news partner. It has been adapted by EWTN Norway