U.S.: Joe Biden withdraws from presidential race

teleSUR English

U.S. president Joe Biden has withdrawn from the race for the U.S. presidency, an extraordinary decision that plunges the democratic nomination into uncertainty just months before the November election against Donald Trump.

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00:00We interrupt our program and we have breaking news.

00:07U.S. President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the race for the U.S. presidency, an extraordinary

00:12decision that plunges the Democratic nomination into uncertainty just months before the November

00:17election against Donald Trump.

00:20The president made the shocking announcement after a week's long pressure campaign by Democratic

00:24leaders, organizers, and donors, who increasingly saw no path to victory so long as the embattled

00:34incumbent remained on the ticket.

00:37A disastrous debate performance last month and his uneven public appearances since have

00:42only exacerbated longstanding border concerns that the 81-year-old president was simply

00:49too old to serve another four years.

00:52Biden's decision to step aside from the race, though remain as president, caps a singular

00:58few weeks in U.S. politics, the latest stunning episode in an unusually tumultuous election

01:04season.

01:05Former president and Republican nominee Trump narrowly survived an attempt on his life during

01:11a campaign rally in Pennsylvania that blotted his ear and left one spectator dead.

01:19Biden, after appealing for calm in the wake of the attack, has returned to the campaign

01:23trial last week determined to salvage his candidacy and once again prove his doubters

01:29wrong.

01:30In media appearances, the president was defiant, insisting that he would remain the party's

01:35standard-bearer in November, barring an intervention from the Lord Almighty being struck by a train

01:42or medical condition.

01:43On Wednesday, as Biden was said to deliver remarks at a conference in Nevada, he tested

01:49positive for COVID.

01:50The president's withdrawal pushes the Democratic Party into largely uncharted waters, with

01:56its national convention scheduled to begin on August 19 in Chicago.

02:02The nominee will also have a tight window to choose a running mate to take on Trump

02:07and his vice presidential pick, the Ohio Senator James David Vance.

02:13The 95% of delegates who pledged to support Biden following his big win since the Democratic

02:20primaries are now able to vote for a different candidate.

02:24Roughly 4,000 Democratic delegates will convene in August to choose a new nominee, and right

02:31now Kamala Harris will arrive in Chicago as an early favorite in the race to replace Biden.

02:37After serving as Biden's vice president, Harris, 59 years old, has the largest national

02:42profile of any Democratic candidate, and delegates may view her as the safest option, with just

02:50four months to spare before Election Day.

02:54Campaign finance experts will say that Harris would have the most straightforward legal

02:59argument to keep the Biden campaign's fundraising whole, while another nominee may have to forfeit

03:06the money.

03:07As of the end of May, the Biden campaign had $91.6 million in cash on hand.

03:22That's the latest right now.

03:23We are going to continue providing updates in upcoming news briefs, so stay tuned for

03:27that.

03:28That is the news.

03:29U.S. President Joe Biden has withdrawn from the presidential race just months before the

03:34elections on November.

03:36Stay tuned with Treasurer English for more updates in upcoming news briefs.

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