MADISON, Wis. — President Biden announced Sunday he is stepping down from the 2024 presidential campaign, and will focus solely on the remainder of his term.

The decision comes after Biden’s disastrous debate performance on June 27, in which the 81-year-old president gave nonsensical answers, stuttered, and failed to call out former President Donald Trump’s falsehoods. The performance prompted escalating pressure from Biden’s Democratic allies to step aside. 

Biden said in a tweet he believes it is in the best interest of the Democratic Party for him to stand down. He will focus on his duties as President for the remainder of his term, which ends at noon on Jan. 20, 2025. The White House confirmed the authenticity of the letter contained in the tweet.

Biden has begun endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party’s instant favorite for the future nomination, and is currently collecting donations on her behalf. Some Democrats, like Wisconsin Senator Tammy Baldwin, have joined in on endorsing Harris’s campaign. Others, like former President Barack Obama, have not.

The decision marks a swift and stunning end to Biden’s political career. A party’s presumptive presidential nominee has never stepped out of the race so close to the election, and now, Democrats must persuade voters that their new nominee can handle the job and beat Trump.

Trump reacted to Biden’s statement in a post on his Truth Social website in which he said Biden was not only unfit to run for President, but also unfit to serve in the rest of his term.

The Democratic National Convention will be held from Aug. 19-22 in Chicago. It remains to be seen whether other candidates will challenge Harris for the presidential nomination.

​COPYRIGHT 2024 BY CHANNEL 3000. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED.