President Joe Biden drops out of 2024 race after disastrous debate fuels age concerns

COLLEEN LONG and ZEKE MILLER, Associated Press

6 minutes ago

FILE – President Joe Biden speaks at a news conference on July 11, 2024, in Washington. President Joe Biden dropped out of the 2024 White House race on Sunday, July 21, ending his re-election bid after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about his fitness for office just four months before the election. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden withdrew from the 2024 White House race on Sunday, ending his re-election bid after a disastrous debate with Donald Trump that raised doubts about his fitness for office just four months before the election.

The decision comes after Biden’s Democratic allies mounted pressure to withdraw after the June 27 debate, after the 81-year-old president was slow to respond, often giving nonsensical answers and failing to address the former president’s many lies.

Biden plans to serve out the remainder of his term, which ends at noon on January 20, 2025.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President, and while my intention was to be re-elected, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country to step down and focus solely on fulfilling the duties of my President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in a letter posted to his X account.

He did not immediately endorse Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s heavy favorite for the nomination, at the party convention in Chicago in August.

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