Joe Biden latest LIVE: US President dramatically withdraws from 2024 re-election campaign and endorses Kamala Harris

  • london
  • July 21, 2024
  • Comments Off on Joe Biden latest LIVE: US President dramatically withdraws from 2024 re-election campaign and endorses Kamala Harris
Joe Biden latest LIVE: US President dramatically withdraws from 2024 re-election campaign and endorses Kamala Harris thumbnail

Biden ‘changed his mind’ on Sunday afternoon, source says

President Joe Biden as of Saturday night had planned to stay in the 2024 presidential race, but told senior staff on Sunday afternoon that he was withdrawing, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

“Last night the message was proceed with everything, full speed ahead,” the source told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. “At around 1.45 pm today: the president told his senior team that he had changed his mind.”

The decision caught many White House staff off guard, with several expressing shock that the president had made the announcement while recuperating from a bout of Covid-19 at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.

Nursing a cough, the 81-year-old Biden had spent the weekend stewing over Democratic pressure to force him to leave the race.

Joe Biden endorses Vice President Kamala Harris

Shortly after announcing he was stepping back from the re-election campaign, Joe Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

In a post on X he said: “My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term.

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President.

“And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. 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.”