Biden quits US presidential race

Jul 23, 2024, 10:04 am

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US President Joe Biden expressed his support for Vice President Kamala Harris after announcing his decision to drop out of the US presidential race./ Source: AP Yonhap

AsiaToday Washington correspondent Ha Man-joo

Yet another upheaval in the US presidential election race took place on Sunday, when President Joe Biden stepped down from his re-election campaign against Donald Trump.

Biden’s shock decision was only eight days after Republican candidate Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt during a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13.

Following Biden, Democratic presidential hopefuls declared their support for Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s new nominee, raising the possibility that the presidential election will be a showdown between Harris and Republican presidential candidate Trump.

“I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus entirely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term,” Biden said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter. It is unprecedented in America’s modern history that a presidential candidate suspended his campaign just weeks before a national party convention.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) called Biden’s drop-out “the most monumental political collapse in American history.”

After making the announcement, Biden officially endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic Party’s nominee to take on Trump in the Nov. 5 general election.

Harris vowed to do “everything” to bring the Democratic Party together to defeat Trump. “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party – and unite our nation – to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda,” she said.

Harris is expected to receive the official presidential nomination at the Democratic Party’s upcoming national convention in Chicago, Illinois, which will take place on Aug. 19-20.

#Joe Biden #Donald Trump #Kamala Harris