Here’s the letter that Biden wrote to say he would no longer seek reelection
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden posted a letter on social media on Sunday announcing that he will no longer seek re-election.
The Democrat’s decision came after mounting pressure from lawmakers, donors, activists and voters within his own party concerned about his ability to defeat Republican Donald Trump in November’s election. The letter ended weeks of speculation following the 81-year-old’s troubling performance during the June 27 presidential debate. Below is the text of the letter, which Biden sent on his personal stationery:
My fellow Americans,
Over the past three and a half years, we have made great progress as a country.
Today, America has the strongest economy in the world. We’ve made historic investments in rebuilding our country, lowering prescription drug costs for seniors and expanding affordable health care to record numbers of Americans. We’ve provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances. We passed the first gun safety law in 30 years. We appointed the first African-American woman to the Supreme Court. And we’ve passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world. America has never been better positioned to lead.
I know that none of this would have been possible without you, the American people. Together, we have overcome a once-in-a-century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. We have protected and preserved our democracy. And we have revived and strengthened our alliances around the world.
It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President. And while it was my intention to be re-elected, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country that I step down and focus solely on fulfilling the duties of my President for the remainder of my term.
I will speak to the Nation about my decision in more detail later this week.
For now, I want to express my deepest gratitude to everyone who worked so hard to see me re-elected. I want to thank Vice President Kamala Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all of this work. And let me express my sincere appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me.
I believe today what I have always believed: that there is nothing America cannot do — if we do it together. We just have to remember that we are the United States of America.