Biden quits race amid criticism

US President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race amid growing calls by his Democratic peers, reports BBC.

He said he would speak to the nation later this week in detail about his decision. He has backed his running mate Kamala Harris, the vice president, to replace him. 

Biden faced growing calls to quit the race after a devastating debate earlier this month where he struggled to find words to reply to Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Though he tried to remain defiant,  in recent days, a growing number of heavyweight Democrats, including former House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Adam Schiff, joined the call.

According to a White House source, Pelosi reportedly told Biden he cannot win the Nov 5 election.

Schiff said in a statement on Wednesday that he has "serious concerns" about whether Biden can defeat Trump, the first Democrat to come out after the Saturday assassination attempt against the former president.

In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Biden said, "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... Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats - it's time to come together and beat Trump. Let's do this."

In another statement issued by Biden, he said, "It has been the greatest honour 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 interests 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.

The letter concludes, "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."

Meanwhile,  Trump has responded to the news by saying, Harris would be easier to defeat than Biden, reports CNN.

On his social media Truth platform, he said, "Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for president, and is certainly not fit to serve And never was! He only attained the position of President by lies, Fake News, and not leaving his Basement... We will suffer greatly because of his presidency, but we will remedy the damage he has done very quickly. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!"