President Joe Biden just announced that he no longer plans to seek reelection.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden said in a statement. “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 subsequent post, Biden offers his “full support and endorsement” for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the Democratic Party’s nominee.
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… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
The announcement comes after growing pressure from parts of the Democratic Party and its donor base — including notable figures in the tech world — calling for Biden to drop out.
Venture capitalist Michael Moritz said this week that Biden must step aside, and he said he was putting his donations to the Democratic on hold in the meantime. Another venture capitalist, Ted Dintersmith, co-authored a plan for a proposed “blitz primary” process designed to select Biden’s replacement.
