US President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race against Donald Trump.

"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 focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term," Biden stated in a statement posted on X.

pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

Biden also endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee for the 2024 election. "Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year," he said, also via X.

My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best… pic.twitter.com/x8DnvuImJV

— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024

Trump reacted to Biden's decision with harsh criticism, stating, "He will go down in US history as the worst president in history."

Read more: Rising support for VP Harris as Biden pressured to withdraw from race

Ever since his poor performance in the first campaign debate against his Republican rival in June, several reports have surfaced suggesting that Democrats were pressuring Biden from dropping the race.

The Democratic Party's convention takes place in August, and Harris is expected to present a more active challenge against Republican competitor Trump. 

It is worth noting that Harris' reputation is tarnished both overseas and at home due to her hawkish support of military aggressions abroad as well as her controversial actions as attorney General in California such as unjustly incarcerating innocent individuals, supporting the death penalty, and shielding law enforcement officers accused of unjust killings.

In 2017, she co-sponsored a bill that enabled Trump to enforce sanctions on Iran, thereby breaching the JCPOA nuclear deal.

And in 2019, she, along with other 2020 Democratic presidential candidates, signed a letter calling for increased US occupation of Syria.

A group of nearly 400 members of the United States Congress called on President Trump to demonstrate American leadership in resolving the prolonged conflict in #Syria.

Read the bipartisan letter to the President here ⬇️https://t.co/fdy9zbkN23 pic.twitter.com/7pZUo6mbuk

— House Foreign Affairs Committee Dems (@HouseForeign) May 20, 2019

Read more: Harris pledges $1.5 billion in US aid for Ukraine