President Joe Biden – just the second Catholic to lead the United States – has pulled out of the 2024 presidential election race. Source: NCR Online.
The announcement overnight brings to an end several weeks of speculation about Mr Biden’s political future, including both his viability in the November election and his ability to serve another four-year term in the White House.
Mr Biden’s faltering performance at a June 27 debate crystalised longstanding concerns about his physical and mental stamina, causing a substantial loss of confidence among voters heading into the general election campaign.
“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President,” Mr Biden said in a letter posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“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,” he said.
Mr Biden said he would address the nation in the coming week to share “more detail about my decision.”
Mr Biden has endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to be the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee in November.
In a statement posted to his social media platform Truth Social, former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, said Mr Biden “was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve — And never was!”
Mr Biden, who was previously the first Catholic vice president, and later became the second Catholic president in US history, has previously been at odds with the US bishops over his administration’s abortion policy but has won some bishops’ praise on refugee and climate-related policies, as well as mixed responses to his policies on immigration.
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BREAKING: President Joe Biden makes historic decision to end 2024 reelection bid (By Kate Scanlon, OSV News via NCR Online)
