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WASHINGTON - President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he is pulling out of the 2024 presidential race and is now endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
The president released a statement on X announcing the decision, saying that he believes 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."
A short while later, Biden said he was passing the baton to his second-in-command, VP Harris.
"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," Biden wrote in a post on X.
Harris later released a statement, saying in part, "With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else. I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination."
The 81-year-old president's decision comes after a lackluster debate performance that kicked off a growing number of calls from fellow Democrats to withdraw.
"It's been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President," Biden said in the letter posted online. "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."
READ MORE: A timeline of Biden's decision to withdraw
Despite ongoing speculation and waning support from top Democrats, Biden's Sunday afternoon statement came as a surprise to many following the president's staunch rebuttals of concerns about his age and well-being.
"If I slow down and I can't get the job done, that’s a sign that I shouldn’t be doing it. But there’s no indication of that yet — none," he said while delivering remarks following the 75th Anniversary NATO Summit in D.C. just over a week ago.
The Democratic party appeared to fracture quickly following the president's disastrous debate at the end of June and a series of gaffes during the NATO Summit that included calling Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskyy "President Putin" when discussing the war in Eastern Europe and mixing up the names of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
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Presidential predictor Allan Lichtman discusses what's next after Biden drops out of presidential race
Presidential election predictor Allan Lichtman, who has predicted the winner of nearly every U.S. presidential race since 1984 using his 13 "Keys to the White House" method joined LiveNow to discuss what he thinks will come next following President Joe Biden's abrupt departure from the 2020 presidential race and his decision to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris.
Despite missteps, the president remained adamant that he would continue his presidential campaign and vehemently pushed back against suggestions that he may no longer be fit to serve.
"I’m in this to complete the job I started," Biden had said.
READ MORE: Biden says there's 'no indication' he's slowing down in post-NATO Summit news conference
Biden then tested positive for COVID on July 17, forcing him to cancel planned remarks at the UnidosUS Annual Conference in Las Vegas. He was slated to speak at the event in an effort to rally Hispanic voters.
The same day, a newly released AP-NORC poll revealed that nearly two-thirds of Democrats said Biden should withdraw from the presidential race and let his party nominate a different candidate. The same poll showed that only about a third of Democrats believed Biden was more capable of winning than Trump.
This all comes just days after the Republican National Convention wrapped up in Milwaukee where former President Donald Trump formally accepted the party's nomination for President of the United States. Trump's new vice presidential running mate JD Vance also spoke from the RNC last week, accepting his nomination from the party.
Now, speculation about who could be on Harris' ticket is beginning. Names including California Gov. Gavin Newsom, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore and Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro have made the shortlist.
A recent poll conducted in two swing states revealed that Harris could win the election with Shapiro at her side.
"I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party — and unite our nation — to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda," Harris said in a statement. "We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win."
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