Joe Biden drops of out US Presidential race amid pressure from his age as he endorses VP Kamala Harris for Democratic nomination

The Democrat announced on Sunday evening (July 21) that he would not be standing as the party’s candidate in the upcoming election in November, after questions were raised about his suitability for office in recent months. The pressure on President Biden to end his campaign ramped up after a disastrous debate performance against Republican nominee Donald Trump.

In a statement, Biden said: “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.”

The President, who tested positive for Covid-19 last week, will continue in the White House until the end of his term on January 20, 2025. In his announcement, he also endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate for the November election.

He said: “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. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.”

Harris, 59, had been touted as a natural successor to Biden if he were to drop out of the presidential race, however has not yet been confirmed as the official Democratic nominee. She will face a nomination vote at the Democratic National Convention next month.

In response to Biden’s endorsement, she said: "We have 107 days until election day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win." Biden’s less-than-impressive debate performance against Trump raised eyebrows after the 81-year-old leader seemed confused and bumbling in the showdown, which took place on June 27. Many Democratic supporters and senior figures voiced their concern after the President appeared unable to struggle to speak at points and failed to pick up on many of Trump’s falsehoods.

Since then, Biden has continued to raise concern with other public appearances, including mistakenly called Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky “President Putin” at a Nato press conference, and mistakenly referring to his second-in-command Harris as “Vice President Trump”. The US President confirmed that he would speak to Americans in a TV address later this week to address his decision to step down.

It comes after the Republican candidate, Donald Trump, survived an assassination attempt during a rally in Pennsylvania. The 78-year-old former president was clipped on the ear by a bullet fired by 20-year-old Thomas Matthew Crooks on July 13.

He appeared on stage at the Republican National Convention last week in Milwaukee with a bandage on his ear. Trump also confirmed that Ohio senator J.D Vance would be his running-mate for the 2024 election.

In response to Biden pulling out of the race, Trump said on his social media platform Truth Social that the President “was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve”. he added: “We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly,” he added. “MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer praised Biden for his “remarkable career”, saying in a statement: “I respect President Biden’s decision and I look forward to us working together during the remainder of his presidency.

“I know that, as he has done throughout his remarkable career, President Biden will have made his decision based on what he believes is in the best interests of the American people.”