President Joe Biden said on Sunday he would withdraw from the U.S. presidential race. The president announced the decision on X (formerly Twitter) days after testing positive for the coronavirus.
In subsequent posts, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and called on Democrats to “unite” on the matter and “defeat Trump.” The news comes less than a month before a historic and influential Democratic National Convention.
Biden’s statement noted that while he intends to seek re-election, he concluded, “It is in the best interests of my party and the country that I resign and focus on my duties as president for the remainder of my term.” The outgoing US leader said he would explain further “later this week” but did not appear to reveal anything – something Democratic officials and donors have demanded in recent weeks following June’s disastrous presidential debate. Calls for Biden to withdraw are growing louder.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
In recent weeks, former President and Republican candidate Donald Trump has received increasingly outspoken support from Silicon Valley elites such as Elon Musk, as well as investors Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. Republicans have Tech executive in long pursuit of wealth; However, the tech industry’s donations to political candidates tend to favor Democrats.
Technical support for Democratic officials has previously extended to Harris, who received campaign support from wealthy Bay Area figures such as Laurene Powell Jobs during his run for California attorney general. Harris has also spoken on the Google campus and reportedly attended the wedding of Facebook billionaire Sean Parker.
