PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Joe Biden, the 46th President of the United States, will be a one-term President.
Biden, who has been under increasing pressure from members of his own Democratic Party in recent days to drop out of the presidential race amid concerns over his age and mental acuity, announced on Sunday, July 21, that he will not seek re-election.
However, he said he would remain in office and complete his term.
“It has been the greatest honor 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,” Biden wrote in a statement posted on X.
In a subsequent X post addressed to his fellow Democrats, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. “Today, I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year,” he wrote.
In a statement issued through the Biden campaign, Harris said Sunday: “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.”
Biden, 81, is the oldest person ever to have been Commander-In-Chief and is only the second Catholic to serve as President after John F. Kennedy.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
The President said he would speak to the American people later in the week about his decision to withdraw from the race.
Biden’s statement did not address the swirl of speculation over his political future — speculation that escalated following his performance in a debate with former President Donald Trump, the Republican candidate, on June 27. That night, many observers perceived Biden as frail and unable to fully control his faculties.
In the wake of that debate and the weeks after, scores of Democrats have publicly urged Biden to withdraw from the race. As of July 21, that number had included more than three dozen members of the House of Representatives.
His announcement came just three days after the Republican Party officially nominated Trump as the standard bearer going into the election. Trump survived an assassination attempt on his life on July 13.
But while Biden endorsed Harris for President, it’s unclear whether she will win the nomination. The Democratic Party will hold its national convention in Chicago from Aug. 19 to 22.