President Biden and former President Trump squared off in their high-stakes 2024 election debate rematch in late June and the contrast between the pair could not have been starker, a body language expert tells Fox News. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president," Biden wrote in a public letter. "While it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as president for the remainder of my term."
Biden said he will formally address the nation later this week about his decision.
"For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected," Biden wrote. "I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work. And let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me."
Biden added: "I believe today what I always have: that there is nothing America can't do — when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America."
Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19 on Wednesday, a revelation that came on the heels of several TV interviews and campaign appearances in which the president insisted he was remaining in the race. But the interviews failed to reassure supporters and provided critics — including those on the left — with further evidence that Biden was no longer up to the job.
Biden delivered a strong welcome address to world leaders at last week's NATO summit in Washington, D.C. The showcase served as an opportunity to prove he was fit to continue his current term and eager and able to lead the nation for another four years.
President Joe Biden, accompanied by Jaime Jaquez of the NBA Miami Heat and first lady Jill Biden, speaks during a Cinco de Mayo reception in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 6, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
But two blockbuster developments in rapid succession — the attempted assassination of Trump at the former president's rally in western Pennsylvania on Saturday and Trump's naming Monday at the Republican National Convention of Sen. JD Vance of Ohio as his running mate — briefly halted the fervor over Biden for a couple of days.
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But the call on Wednesday by Rep. Adam Schiff, the Democratic Senate nominee in California, for Biden to end his campaign, as well as reporting that top Democrats such as Schumer, Jeffries, and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had frank conversations with Biden, quickly reignited the political crisis for the president.
Biden's stunning announcement occurred during the roughest stretch of what was a more than year-long campaign for a second term. Doubts about his viability at the top of the Democratic Party's 2024 ticket began seeping out into the mainstream after his halting delivery and awkward answers were placed on full display for a national audience during June's presidential debate with Trump in Atlanta.
Brooke Singman is a political correspondent and reporter for Fox News Digital, Fox News Channel and FOX Business.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/trump-says-biden-is-not-fit-serve-who-going-running-country-next-5-months