Biden bows out, endorses Kamala Harris for president

President Joe Biden’s announcement to withdraw from the presidential race and endorse his running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, has upended the race, with many Democrats rallying around Harris.

Biden, under severe pressure following his disastrous June 27 debate performance against former President Donald Trump, announced on Sunday that he was ending his campaign.

In a message posted on X, he wrote, “My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. 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.”

According to The Hill, besides Biden, Harris has been endorsed by former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), and 17 Senate Democrats, including multiple members of the leadership.

Also endorsing Harris is California Democrat Rep. Ami Bera, the longest-serving Indian American in Congress. “The stakes of this election cannot be overstated. It is time for the Democratic Party to rally behind Vice President Kamala Harris and build on President Biden’s historic legacy,” he said in a statement. “As someone who’s known and served with Vice President Kamala Harris, I wholeheartedly endorse her to be our party’s nominee and look forward to electing the first woman of African and Indian-American descent to the presidency this November.”

READ: Democratic leaders deserve blame for not discouraging Biden from running (July 20, 2024)

In a statement posted on X, Harris thanked Biden “for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country.” She was “honored to have” the endorsement of Biden and her “intention is to earn and win this nomination.”

Harris continued, “Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. 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.”

Bera also lauded Biden’s announcement, which, according to him, keeps the president’s legacy “intact.”

“As an early supporter of President Biden in 2019 and someone who worked hard to get him elected, I can confidently say that he has been a phenomenal and consequential president,” Bera said. “I know the president to be a man of great character who always will put the interests of our great nation first––and that is exactly what I see him doing today.”