President Joe Biden is dropping out of the 2024 presidential election but will remain in office to complete his first term.
The 81-year-old Democrat made the announcement in a statement on X just before 2 p.m. on Sunday.
"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your 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 my duties as President for the remainder of my term," said Biden.
Biden said he would speak about the decision in more detail later this week.
Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee in a follow-up post on X.
"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," said Biden.
As late as Friday, Biden campaign officials were insisting that the president was not dropping out of the race even as they acknowledged support slipping among Democrats. Three Democrats in the U.S. Senate, where Biden spent most of his political career, called for him to step down.
NBC News reported that Biden's family had been discussing an exit strategy. His campaign denied the report.
A half dozen Democratic members of Congress on Friday joined a growing list of party officials calling for Biden to step down following a disastrous debate performance, worries about his age and his latest bout with COVID-19 just as the Republicans wrapped up their convention where they nominated former President Donald Trump, who survived an assassination attempt days earlier. Republican enthusiasm for Trump remains unbothered by a criminal conviction this year and a record of two impeachments.
At 81, Biden is one of the oldest presidents and would be 86 at the end of a second term. Trump would be 82 at the end of a second term.
A recent poll finds that most Democrats believe Vice President Kamala Harris would make a good president.
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