US President Joe Biden has withdrawn his candidacy in favor of Harris

U.S. President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Harry Harris for the Democratic nomination.

Biden issued a letter to Americans on social media X on Sunday (July 21), reviewing the past three and a half years of economic diplomacy and other achievements of the United States, and announced that he would withdraw from the 2024 U.S. presidential race.

He wrote, "It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve you as your President. "While I intend to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country for me to step aside and focus solely on carrying out my duties as president for the remainder of my term."

Biden said he will give the nation a more detailed account of his decision later this week.

It is the first time in decades that an American president has dropped out of the race for re-election. Since the first televised debate in June, Biden has faced questions about his poor performance, and a growing number of Democrats and voters have called for him to drop out of the race. He has repeatedly said he will stay in the race, but the pressure is mounting.

According to CNN, a senior Biden campaign adviser said that he made the final decision to drop out of the race within the past 48 hours, when he consulted with his family and senior advisers by phone. Local time on Friday (19), after recovering from coronavirus home quarantine, Biden did not have a final interview with his campaign team or White House advisers.

Biden is one of the youngest senators in U.S. history and, at 81, one of the oldest presidents in U.S. history.

Late Sunday, the campaigns of Biden and Vice President Harris officially amended their filings with the Federal Election Commission to nominate Harris for the White House. However, this does not mean that Harris is the presumptive nominee, but will depend on the final decision of the Democratic National Convention delegates. The General Assembly is usually held from August 19 to 22.

Sources told Reuters that within hours of Biden's announcement, Harris Allies began calling delegates and party chairs to drum up their support.