AsianFin—U.S. President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that he drop out of the 2024 presidential race against former president Donald Trump and endorsed his deputy Kamala Harris as Democratic nominee. 

The unprecedented move came after weeks of pressure from the Democratic Party for him to abandon the White House bid following his poor performance in a debate against Trump.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden, 81, wrote in a post on social media site X.

“And 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 to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote.

“I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision,” wrote Biden, whose dropout decision came after a surge in the number of congressional Democrats publicly calling for him to quit for another nominee.

Biden has been isolated at his Delaware beach home after being diagnosed with Covid-19.

Former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton issued a joint statement, saying “We are honored the join the President in endorsing Vice President Harris and will do whatever we can to support her.”