US President Joe Biden has decided to drop out of the 2024 presidential race for the same reason he wanted to become president four years ago — to preserve democracy and defeat Donald Trump.
He stated this in an interview with the "CBS Sunday Morning" program.
According to him, they went hand in hand with Trump. However, a CBS News poll on July 18 (the final night of the Republican National Convention) showed Trump up 5 points nationally with 52% to Bidenʼs 47%.
“Many of my fellow Democrats in the House and Senate thought I would hurt them in the race. This is what happened," Biden emphasized.
He made the decision to withdraw from the race in a small circle of people together with his wife Jill Biden, when he was recovering from COVID-19.
Also in the interview, he repeated that he considers the US presidential candidate from the Republican Party Donald Trump a threat to the US and democracy.
Instead, Biden considers presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris and her running mate Tim Wolz to be a "great team."
Elections in the USA
This yearʼs presidential election in the USA will be held on November 5, 2024. Donald Trump became the Republican candidate in mid-July and presented his vice presidential candidate James David Vance. Vance consistently opposes aid to Ukraine and says that Kyiv will have to cede some territories for a ceasefire.
Incumbent Joe Biden was supposed to be the Democratic nominee, but after an unsuccessful debate with Trump in June, he came under fire and pressure from the leaders and donors of the US Democratic Party. So on July 21, Biden officially announced that he was withdrawing from the presidential race and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate.
On August 2, Kamala Harris received the delegate votes needed for the Democratic nomination. It should be finally approved at the party congress later in August. She has already presented her vice-presidential candidate — Minnesota Governor Tim Volz, known for his support of Ukraine and sharp criticism of Trump and Vance.