Hyderabad: Embattled US President Joe Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's new nominee, after he pulled out from the re-election campaign that he was seeking. He said his decision was arrived at “in the best interest of my pṣarty and the country".
Biden's endorsement of Harris comes after weeks of intense pressure from fellow Democrats that began with his disastrous presidential debate performance against his Republican rival and former US president Donald Trump last month.
Harris who is of Indian and African origin will now have to choose her running mate, if Democrats choose to nominate her candidacy. “Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats, it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this,” Biden wrote on X.
“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it's been the best decision I've made,” he said.
My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
The 81-year-old president, who will make way for other candidates who were in the fray while Democrats choose their candidate to take on Trump, has suggested that Harris be considered as the new nominee. The US will go to polls on November 5.
“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President. And 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 to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in a statement posted on his social media handle.
Biden is currently in self-isolation at his Delaware residence after he tested positive with COVID-19.
He promised that he will speak in a more detailed manner about his decision later this week, probably in a televised address.
“For now let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me,” he said.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
Biden asserted that his term, which still has six months left, has “made great progress as a nation”.
“Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We have made historic investments in rebuilding our nation in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans.”
