US President Joe Biden has announced that he will end his candidacy for re-election, saying “it is in the best interest of my party and the country”.
It comes four months before Americans go to the polls, upending the race for the White House.
It follows weeks of intense pressure from fellow Democrats after a faltering debate performance against Republican Donald Trump at the end of June.
In a letter posted to his social media account, he said it had been the greatest honour of his life to serve as 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 the duties as President for the remainder of my term”.
The president’s decision blows open the presidential race less than four months before Election Day. It also poses extraordinary questions and challenges for the Democratic party, which now must scramble to assemble a new presidential ticket.
The next candidate will need to compete against Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance, win over donors, delegates and other allies who were loyal to the incumbent — all while convincing voters of their own worthiness for the nation’s highest office.
But a growing number of top Democrats have made clear in recent weeks that they prefer that daunting task to keeping Biden as their nominee.
The 81-year-old president started to hemorrhage support from his own party after his catastrophic debate performance against Trump in late June.
While he is only three years older than Trump, Biden looked and sounded significantly worse on the debate stage. He displayed a stiff posture and sometimes vacant-looking gaze, and he frequently gave answers that were raspy, unclear and unimpactful.
In both substance and appearance Biden contrasted sharply with Trump, who looked and sounded the same as he has in recent years.
The debate instantly set off a crisis among Democrats. Even before it ended, party operatives were raising doubts about whether Biden could effectively campaign against Trump.
High-profile Democratic donors and backers openly urged Biden to drop out, with some vowing to withhold campaign contributions in the meantime.
MDW Live! News Network 
US President Joe Biden has announced that he will end his candidacy for re-election, saying “it is in the best interest of my party and the country”.
It comes four months before Americans go to the polls, upending the race for the White House.
It follows weeks of intense pressure from fellow Democrats after a faltering debate performance against Republican Donald Trump at the end of June.
In a letter posted to his social media account, he said it had been the greatest honour of his life to serve as 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 the duties as President for the remainder of my term”.
The president’s decision blows open the presidential race less than four months before Election Day. It also poses extraordinary questions and challenges for the Democratic party, which now must scramble to assemble a new presidential ticket.
The next candidate will need to compete against Donald Trump and Sen. JD Vance, win over donors, delegates and other allies who were loyal to the incumbent — all while convincing voters of their own worthiness for the nation’s highest office.
But a growing number of top Democrats have made clear in recent weeks that they prefer that daunting task to keeping Biden as their nominee.
The 81-year-old president started to hemorrhage support from his own party after his catastrophic debate performance against Trump in late June.
While he is only three years older than Trump, Biden looked and sounded significantly worse on the debate stage. He displayed a stiff posture and sometimes vacant-looking gaze, and he frequently gave answers that were raspy, unclear and unimpactful.
In both substance and appearance Biden contrasted sharply with Trump, who looked and sounded the same as he has in recent years.
The debate instantly set off a crisis among Democrats. Even before it ended, party operatives were raising doubts about whether Biden could effectively campaign against Trump.
High-profile Democratic donors and backers openly urged Biden to drop out, with some vowing to withhold campaign contributions in the meantime.
Share this: