President Joe Biden is no longer seeking reelection, according to a letter posted to the president's social media pages on Sunday afternoon.
"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President," the letter reads. "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."
After overwhelmingly winning the Democratic primary vote for the 2024 Presidential Election, Biden was expected to officially be named the Democratic nominee at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago in August.
However, following what many saw as a poor performance during June's presidential debate with former President Donald Trump, members of the 81-year-old's party began to question if he could win reelection against the Republican in November.
Biden, who's political career has spanned decades, thanked Vice President Kamala Harris in his letter and says he will "speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision."
In a follow-up post, the president announced his support for Harris to be the Democratic presidential nominee.
Following Biden's announcement, former President Trump, who was officially named the 2024 Republican presidential nominee last week, put out a statement over Truth Social. It read, in part:
"Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve — And never was!," said Trump, who lost to Biden in 2020.
Susan Swecker, Chair for the Democratic Party of Virginia, also released a statement reading, in part:
"Joe Biden’s decision to step aside is one that we deeply respect and we thank him for everything that he has done and will continue to do."
This is a developing story. Stay with News 3 for updates.
