Biden drops out, supports Harris as candidate

He also announced his support for Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic Party's candidate to face Republican candidate Donald Trump in the US election this November.

President Biden, 81, the oldest person ever to hold the office of US president, said he would remain in office until his term ends on January 20, 2025, and will address the nation this week.

President Joe Biden has announced he is abandoning his re-election campaign in the 2024 US election. Photo: Reuters

He has not been seen in public since testing positive for COVID-19 last week and is self-isolating at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. "While I intend to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interests of our party and our country to step aside and focus on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," Biden wrote on X.

The move dramatically reshapes a White House race that has been in limbo for the past month, including Biden’s forgettable debate performance on June 27. Trump told CNN on Sunday that he believes he would have an easier time defeating Harris.

If Ms. Harris becomes the nominee, the move would be an unprecedented gamble for the Democratic Party: the first woman of color and the first Asian American to run for the White House in a country that has elected only one black president and has not elected a female president in more than two centuries.

If she is officially nominated, Ms. Harris, 59, would become the first woman of color to lead a major party in American history. "My desire is to win this nomination," Ms. Harris said in a statement. "I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party... and to defeat Donald Trump."

US Vice President Kamala Harris. Photo: Reuters

Harris campaign officials, allies and supporters have begun soliciting delegate support for her nomination ahead of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago from Aug. 19 to 22, according to multiple sources.

Opposition to Mr Biden’s re-election campaign has grown in the past week, with 36 Democrats in the US Congress – more than one in eight – publicly calling on him to drop out, citing concerns about his sanity.

In a hypothetical matchup, Harris and Trump are tied at 44% each in a Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted on July 15-16, shortly after Trump’s July 13 assassination attempt. Trump leads Biden 43% to 41% in that same poll.

Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, CNN)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/bau-cu-my-2024-ong-biden-bo-cuoc-ung-ho-ba-harris-len-thay-post304351.html