With just three and a half months to go until the November presidential election, US president Joe Biden has announced that he is dropping out of the race.
In a statement to social media, the Democrat president boasted that the country had made “great progress” under his watch, and that America had “the strongest economy in the world.”
“[We have] appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court, and passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world,” he said.
“America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today…Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalised and strengthened our alliances around the world.”
Biden said that it had been “the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President”, adding: “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.”
In recent weeks, 81-year-old Biden has faced increasing calls from inside and outside his own party to step aside, after a clumsy debate performance against his Republican opponent Donald Trump in June. Many commentators reacting to the debate afterwards noted Biden’s apparent signs of cognitive decline, confusion, and incoherence throughout, casting doubt on his ability to beat Trump.
However, despite numerous top figureheads within the Democratic party calling for him to step aside, and major donors pulling their funding from his campaign, Biden had consistently refused to step down for weeks now, saying in early June that only “the Lord Almighty” could convince him to drop out of the race.
As for who he wishes to replace him to take on Trump, Biden has endorsed his Vice President Kamala Harris to take his place.
Calling her “an extraordinary partner”, he said: “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.”
Reacting to the news of his opponent dropping out, Donald Trump said that “Crooked Joe Biden” is “the worst president by far in the history of our nation.”
“He has done everything possible to destroy our country, from our southern border, to energy dominance, national security, international standing, and so much more,” he wrote in a post on his own social media platform, Truth Social.
“He was annihilated in an earth shattering debate, and now the corrupt and radical Democrats are throwing him overboard. He was not fit to serve from the very beginning, but the people around him lied to America about his complete and total mental, physical, and cognitive demise. whoever the left puts up now will just be more of the same. Make America great again!”
Trump added: “Crooked Joe just got knocked out, so now I’ll have to do it a FOURTH TIME!!!”