CBS News
Read President Biden’s letter announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential race
President Biden announced his decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race Sunday, ending his reelection bid and leaving open the Democratic nomination less than a month before the party’s convention in August.
The announcement came several weeks after Mr. Biden’s fumbling performance in the debate against former President Donald Trump, his Republican challenger, fueled concerns about his fitness to serve another term in Washington. They were made worse by the president’s recent COVID-19 diagnosis, which pulled Mr. Biden off of the campaign trail to isolate at his home in Delaware, and coincided with a growing number of lawmakers — including some Democrats — calling for him to step aside.
Mr. Biden and his campaign leaders had pushed back against those calls and insisted that he was steadfast in his choice to stay in the race. But, in a letter addressing the American public and shared on social media Sunday afternoon, the president confirmed that he had removed himself from contention.
“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. 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,” said Mr. Biden in the letter, which began by citing some of the achievements made so far by his cabinet during the current term.
“I know none of this could have been done without you, the American people,” he wrote. “Together, we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We’ve protected and preserved our Democracy. And we’ve revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world.”
The president said that he would provide more details about the decision to withdraw in a speech later this week.
Read Mr. Biden’s full letter here:
CBS News
Norah O’Donnell interviews Vice President Kamala Harris across CBS News platforms beginning Oct. 27
“CBS Evening News” anchor and managing editor Norah O’Donnell will interview Vice President Kamala Harris in Kalamazoo, Mich., this weekend for a CBS News exclusive.
O’Donnell will join the Democratic presidential candidate on the campaign trail in Houston and Kalamazoo to provide viewers with an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the final days of her campaign.
The interview with the Democratic presidential nominee will air first on “CBS News Sunday Morning” on Sunday, October 27, at 9:00 a.m. ET., with additional excerpts of the interview appearing on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” “CBS Mornings,” the “CBS Evening News,” and on the CBS News 24/7 Streaming Network.
Plus, tune in to “Face the Nation” on Sunday for moderator and chief foreign affairs correspondent Margaret Brennan’s interview with Republican vice-presidential candidate Senator JD Vance Sunday at 10:30 a.m. ET.
The Emmy Award-winning “Sunday Morning” is broadcast Sundays on CBS beginning at 9 a.m. ET. “Sunday Morning” also streams on the CBS News app [beginning at 11 a.m. ET] and on Paramount+, and is available on cbs.com and cbsnews.com.
Be sure to follow us at cbssundaymorning.com, and on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok.
CBS News
World awaits potential Israel, Hamas cease-fire news as leaders head to Qatar
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Why Biden apologized to Native Americans
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