US President Joe Biden has announced he is dropping out of the presidential race after mounting calls from Democrats for him to end his reelection bid. 

 

He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s new nominee, a CNN report said.

 

Biden failed to convince prominent members of his own party that he can defeat former President Donald Trump in November after his poor performance at the CNN presidential debate in June. It’s the first time a US president has exited a re-election run in decades.

 

With Biden out of the race, individual delegates will need to select the party’s nominee either during a virtual roll call tentatively scheduled for early August, or on the convention floor in Chicago next month. 

 

In a phone call with CNN minutes after Biden announced his exit from the race, Trump described Biden as “the worst president by far in the history of our country.”

 

Biden's statement read:

"My Fellow Americans, 

Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a Nation. Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our Nation, in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors, and in expanding affordable health care to a record number of Americans. We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. Passed the first gun safety law in 30 years.  Appointed the first African American woman to the Supreme Court. And passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today. 

 

"I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people. Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world. 

 

"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. 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. 

 

"I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision. For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me. 

 

"I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can’t do - when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America."

 

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries praised President Joe Biden for his decades of service in a statement after the president announced he would not be seeking re-election. 

 

Jeffries did not mention Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Biden subsequently endorsed, in the brief statement. 

 

“President Joe Biden is one of the most accomplished and consequential leaders in American history. In less than one term, he rescued the nation from a once-in-a-century pandemic, brought the economy roaring back from the brink of recession, enacted consequential legislation for everyday Americans and saved our democracy by defeating the Insurrectionist-in-Chief,” Jeffries said.