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President Biden announced he is dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee — upending the 2024 campaign and embarking Democrats on an unprecedented process to replace him less than four months before the election.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president,” Mr. Biden wrote Sunday in a letter to the American people posted to social media. “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.”
In a separate post, he offered his “full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.”
Harris confirmed she will seek the party’s nomination, saying in a written statement she intends to “earn and win” the party’s support.
Democratic heavyweights quickly came out in support of her, with Bill and Hillary Clinton, Sen. Elizabeth Warren and California. Gov. Gavin Newsom among those saying Harris should take Mr. Biden’s place. Others, like former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, praised Mr. Biden but held off on endorsing Harris or anyone else.
The delegates to the Democratic National Convention will ultimately vote on who becomes the party’s nominee. Democrats are expected to hold an early virtual roll call vote formalizing the nomination on Aug. 1, weeks before the convention, which is slated to begin in Chicago on Aug. 19.
The decision to step down comes after Mr. Biden’s disastrous performance in the first presidential debate at the end of June, which left many members of his own party questioning whether he was capable of defeating Trump in November and serving a second four-year term. Pressure soon grew for him to step aside, with an increasing number of party leaders and Democratic lawmakers openly musing about replacing him on the ticket.
Former President Donald Trump told CBS News’ Robert Costa in a phone conversation Sunday night that he doesn’t think it changes the race if he faces Harris instead of Mr. Biden.
“The policies whether it’s him or her wouldn’t be any different,” Trump said.
Trump is also saying that the next presidential debate should be hosted by Fox News, not ABC News. ABC News was scheduled to hold the next presidential debate in September.
Follow live updates on the reaction to Mr. Biden’s decision to step aside, and what happens next:
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