US President Joe Biden drops out of re-election bid, endorses VP Kamala Harris

US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday he would drop out from his re-election bid and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party nominee for the coveted post.

Biden's decision to withdraw from the presidential race capped month-long speculations about his future, following intense pressure from close associates in the Democratic Party to step down.

Biden communicated his decision in a letter addressed to the American people on his X handle, where he also said he would serve the rest of his term as president.

"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,” Biden wrote in the letter.

He added, “I will speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision.”“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your president,” he wrote.

In a separate post on X addressed to his party, Biden extended his "full support and endorsement" to Harris to be the Democratic candidate for the presidential contest.

"My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my vice president. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. 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," he said.

The 81-year-old leader had been in the eye of a storm after a pathetic performance at the presidential debate in June with his predecessor and now the Republican challenger, Donald Trump.<>