Biden drops out of the presidential race, Harris vows to reunite the party as the nominee

President Joe Biden announced he will not seek reelection and will drop out of the 2024 presidential race.

In a signed letter posted to his official account on X, he said that he will speak to the nation “later this week in more detail” about his decision. Initially the letter did not announce a successor, but in a subsequent social media post, he said he will endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to be the party's nominee.

“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,” the letter reads.

In the letter, Biden thanked those who have worked hard to see him reelected and thanked Vice President Kamala Harris for “being an extraordinary partner in all this work”.

In an emailed statement from the Biden-Harris campaign, Harris said, "it is a profound honor to serve as his Vice President, and I am deeply grateful to the President, Dr. Biden, and the entire Biden family." 

"I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination," Harris added.

pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

The decision comes after Biden has been sidelined from the campaign trail after testing positive for COVID, as many Democracts continued to openly discuss whether he should drop out of the race or seek reelection for a second term.

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 story was last updated on July 21,2024 at 4:18 p.m. ET. 

This is a developing story and will be updated.