US President Joe Biden on Sunday announced that he would no longer be running in the 2024 US presidential race, a momentous decision that further upends the Democratic campaign against Republican Donald Trump and spells an end to Mr Biden's decades-long political career.
"It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your president," Mr Biden wrote in a statement.
"And while it has been my intention to seek re-election, 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."
Mr Biden endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, as the Democratic Party's nominee. He added that he intends to speak later this week about his decision and what is next.
The Democrats now face the daunting task of rallying behind Ms Harris just a month before their convention in Chicago, and less than four months before the November 5 election.
The decision marks the latest historic milestone in a high-stakes election defined by existential questions, and Republicans in the US Congress quickly called on Mr Biden to resign from the presidency.
World leaders quickly issued statements of appreciation for Mr Biden as a long-serving statesman.
Israeli Prime Minister Isaac Herzog paid tribute to "the first US President to visit Israel in wartime, as a recipient of the Israeli Presidential Medal of Honour, and as a true ally of the Jewish people".
"He is a symbol of the unbreakable bond between our two peoples," Mr Herzog wrote on X.
Micheal Martin, Ireland's Foreign Minister, was among the first world leaders to pay tribute to Mr Biden, who has spoken fondly of his Irish heritage.
"This has no doubt been the toughest of calls, but one done, as ever, with dignity and class. I know that the people of Ireland will wish President Biden the very best," Mr Martin shared in a heartfelt post to X.
But others were not as warm in their reactions.
Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for Russia's Foreign Ministry, said leaders should “investigate the conspiracy of the American media and political circles that hid the true state of affairs about his mental state, manipulating public opinion and playing along with one political party."
Moscow has endorsed the Republican ticket with Mr Trump and his vice presidential pick JD Vance.
Democrats have asserted that the foundations of US democracy are at stake, including worries over ensuring the defeat of Mr Trump and Republicans with authoritarian hopes beyond what his first presidency signalled.
Mr Trump's comments about acting as a dictator and Mr Vance's sympathies for elements of Project 2025 – a plan by a conservative think tank to rework government structure and policy from day one – have caused alarm over the future of American democracy.
A recent poll published by Five Thirty Eight poll showed that Ms Harris is “tied” with Mr Trump, at 44-44.
The path to the end of Mr Biden's campaign began after his anaemic and at times incoherent performance in a June 27 debate against his Republican predecessor inspired panic within the Democratic Party.
The White House countered that the 81-year-old President – the oldest in American history – had a cold and was jet-lagged from a tour of Europe nearly two weeks before he took to the debate stage.
Powerful Democrats including Mr Biden's past boss and former president Barack Obama, former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer, and current House Speaker Hakeem Jeffries had expressed concerns about his electability privately and publicly.
Reports in the US media, most quoting unnamed sources, had for weeks painted conflicting pictures about how Mr Biden was processing the fallout.
The New York Times reported on Thursday that several people close to Mr Biden had begun to accept the idea that he may not be able to win in November and may have to drop out of the race.
But as recently as Friday, Mr Biden's re-election campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon insisted that he is “in this race to win”.
Progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a defender of the President after his debate performance, criticised those who spoke to media on background or off the record.
Less than a day after her Instagram Live video comments, dozens of members of Congress issued public statements calling for Mr Biden to step down.
Polls had shown declining support for Mr Biden's re-election aims, compelling major campaign donors like George Clooney to hold or redirect their funds.
According to a poll by the AP/Norc Centre for Public Affairs, nearly two thirds of Democrats thought Mr Biden should withdraw from the race and have a new party candidate be nominated.
Another recent poll by FiveThirtyEight showed he was trailing his Republican opponent by four points, 42-46.
The end of his political career
Though he still has another six months in office, the end of Mr Biden's campaign essentially ends a lengthy political career.
He briefly worked as a public defender in the 1970s before he entered local Delaware politics.
Mr Biden took the leap into national politics when he was elected as a senator for the state of Delaware in 1973, which began his 36-year career in Congress.
Before his presidency, he served as Mr Obama's vice president for two terms.
Mr Biden stepped into the Oval Office shortly after a pro-Trump insurrection at the US Capitol in January 2021 and amid the Covid pandemic.
He tried to lead the country out of an economic crisis with the aid of a large infrastructure bill.
Mr Biden managed the US through foreign crises including Russia's war on Ukraine and the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
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US President Joe Biden delivers the State of the Union address at the Capitol in Washington. Reuters -
Mr Biden criticised his probable presidential election rival Donald Trump during the speech. EPA -
Mr Biden with House Speaker Mike Johnson and Vice President Kamala Harris, at the Capitol. AP -
Democratic members of the House of Representatives Ilhan Omar, left, and Ayanna Pressley show their opposition to the US policy on Gaza. Reuters -
From left, US Democratic politicians Rashida Tlaib, Summer Lee and Cori Bush put on Palestinian keffiyehs before Mr Biden began his address. Reuters -
Members of a Secret Service team depart the Capitol after the State of the Union speech. AFP -
Mr Biden was heckled at the Capital by members of the Republican Party. Reuters -
The State of the Union address was a fiery affair. AP -
Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, who has announced he will step down. EPA -
Mr Biden stops for a selfie as he departs the Capital. AFP -
Jill Biden, the first lady, centre, attends the speech with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson, second row, third from right. AP -
People watch the State of the Union address at an event in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina. Getty Images
But one of the nails in his political coffin was his steadfast support of Israel despite a growing civilian death toll in Gaza.
A small but vocal movement called for Democrats to vote “uncommitted” or leave their votes blank to express support for an end to the war in Gaza. The “uncommitted” group garnered 36 delegates.
Patricia Crouse, a practitioner in residence in public administration and political science at the University of New Haven, said this year's Democratic primary crisis was reflective of a larger issue for the party and its approach to candidates, pointing to the 2016 backing of Hillary Clinton as the party's first nominee against Mr Trump.
The party has seemed to project that “candidates are somehow owed the presidency because they were vice president, or they're owed the presidency because they served in somebody's administration”.
“The problem is we've moved to these candidate-centred elections, and the parties have very little to say now really about choosing candidates,” Ms Crouse told The National before Mr Biden's announcement.
“I think the parties probably need to take back some of that power.”
She said Mr Biden's departure may have a lasting impact on the role of age in future elections.
“Age is definitely going to be something that we're going to see in future elections, the age question.”
Ms Crouse pointed to Mr Trump picking a junior senator as his running mate.
“Those are the conversations the party needs to be having … [Mr Vance] is 39 years old, and so in four years, if he decides to run for president, you have a young candidate.”
