President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he would end his re-election campaign, following weeks of pressure from Democratic donors, lawmakers and voters who feared he would not be able to beat former President Donald Trump.
Biden, 81, plans to serve the remainder of his term, he said.
”It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” he said in a letter posted to social media. “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.”
Shortly after the announcement, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democratic nomination.
“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 wrote. “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.”
Biden caused concern among Democratic voters over three weeks ago with a dismal debate performance, several times trailing off or mumbling through his responses. Voters and some elected Democrats have worried that Biden isn’t able to effectively combat Trump, while also dragging down congressional candidates with a lack of voter engagement.
Biden has responded by increasing his public event schedule, including campaign rallies, televised interviews and a solo press conference with reporters.
But his appearances, still marred with occasional slip-ups, weren’t enough to quell fears from Democrats.
Calls from lawmakers for Biden to step aside slowed down following the assassination attempt of Trump, but picked up Friday following the Republican National Convention.
An Associated Press poll last week found that just under two-thirds of Democrats believe Biden should withdraw from the race. That same poll found Harris with similar approval ratings to Biden but lower disapproval ratings.
It remains unclear who may become the vice presidential nominee, or how the party will go about officially choosing Biden’s successor.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer posted a statement, alluding that she may plan on staying off the ticket despite speculation on her future political ambitions.
“President Biden is a great public servant who knows better than anyone what it takes to defeat Donald Trump,” she wrote. “My job in this election will remain the same: doing everything | can to elect Democrats and stop Donald Trump, a convicted felon whose agenda of raising families’ costs, banning abortion nationwide, and abusing the power of the White House to settle his own scores is completely wrong for Michigan.”
The Democratic National Committee had been planning to nominate Biden at least a week before the Aug. 19 convention. Ohio’s election laws had caused concerns that a candidate had to be nominated at least 90 days before an election — and while Ohio lawmakers have since passed an extension of that deadline for this year, Democrats remain concerned that Republicans could sue to block ballot access for a candidate other than Biden.