Joe Biden steps down LIVE updates: US president resigns as Democratic presidential nominee, backs Kamala Harris as successor

If you’re just joining us, here’s what we know so far about President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the White House race.

• Biden issued a statement declaring it in the best interests of the Democratic Party and the country to pull out of the race for the White House.
• Biden will continue to serve the rest of his term as president. He will address the nation on his decision later in the week.
• Biden immediately threw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him in the battle against Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump on November 5.
• Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump lashed Biden’s presidency on Truth Social, and told CNN he thought Harris would be even easier to defeat.
• Senior Democrats including Chuck Schumer, Dirk Durbin, Gavin Newsom and David Axelrod heaped praise on Biden’s decision to end his bid for re-election.

US President Joe Biden has announced he is withdrawing as the Democratic candidate for the 2024 US presidential election.

The 81-year-old Biden made the announcement on Sunday (US time) in a letter addressed to Americans on the X social media platform.

He said he would remain in his role as president and commander-in-chief until his term ends in January 2025 and he would address the nation this week.

We will bring you live updates as the news unfolds.

Read more here.

For the Democrats, replacing President Joe Biden is by no means a panacea, the antidote to the poison of Trumpism. A prime reason the president had decided to seek a second term – which went back on his pitch four years ago that he would be a transitional figure and a bridge to the next generation – was because he feared Kamala Harris could not beat Trump.

His 59-year-old vice-president, whom he crowned heir apparent within minutes of withdrawing, will confront racism and misogyny. Republicans are already blaming her for the immigration crisis and reminding voters that Joe Biden made her his “border tsar”.

Read more from former BBC Washington correspondent Nick Bryant here.

What a morning!

Joe Biden’s decision to step down puts the 59-year-old Kamala Harris in a powerful position – albeit not guaranteed – to become the new generational face of the Democratic Party, which has spent the past few weeks in disarray ever since the president’s shocking debate performance.

Time, however, is running out. With only four months until election day, no sitting American president has dropped out of a race so late in the cycle.

Here’s our US correspondent Farrah Tomazin on the obstacles Vice President Kamala Harris must overcome to secure the Democratic nomination and then win the election.

Independent senator Joe Manchin is weighing up whether to re-register as a Democrat as part of a potential bid to replace Joe Biden as a candidate, a source familiar with the matter said, according to Reuters.

A Manchin adviser told The Washington Post that the West Virginia senator was considering a tilt at the nomination. Such a move would make him the first challenger to Kamala Harris since Biden announced plans to not contest the 2024 presidential election.

Manchin called on Biden to drop out of the race on Saturday (US time), adding his voice to those of about three dozen US lawmakers who were publicly saying it was time to find a new Democratic candidate.

“I come with a heavy heart to think the time has come for him to pass the torch to a new generation,” Manchin, who left the Democratic Party in May to register as an independent, said on ABC’s This Week.

He made similar comments on CNN’s State of the Union.

And US senator Elizabeth Warren has come out supporting Kamala Harris. Here’s some of what she said on X:

I’m endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris because she’s ready to step up, bring our party together, go toe-to-toe with Donald Trump and win in November.

Kamala has been a ferocious warrior on the issue of abortion. And under Kamala’s leadership, we’re going to get Roe vs Wade back into the law of the land.

But the part that’s fun to think about is, when you’re up against a convicted felon, who better than a former prosector to take it straight to Donald Trump?

She’s ready for this job, and she’s ready to win.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese says US President Joe Biden deserves to be recognised for putting the interests of the nation first in stepping down.

“He is someone who, in January, will be able to retire from public life with an extraordinary record,” Albanese said in Cairns on Monday.

He went on to list Biden’s achievements, including AUKUS and the Inflation Reduction Act, which he described as the “most significant piece of legislation to reduce emissions introduced anywhere in the world”.

He also spoke of Biden’s commitment to stability in the Indo-Pacific, and support for Ukraine against the Russian invasion.

Last year the prime minister visited Biden in Washington, where, he said, “President Biden and [his wife] Jill Biden were gracious hosts at an official state dinner.

“President Biden deserves today to be recognised for, once again, not putting himself forward first, but giving his first consideration to being what he believes is in the interests of the United States of America, as he’s done his whole public life,” Albanese said.

Californian Governor Gavin Newsom has endorsed Kamala Harris in her bid to replace Joe Biden as the Democrats’ presidential candidate.

Newsom, who had been staunchly defensive of Biden’s decision to run again, had earlier tweeted praise for the president’s decision to now stand down.

The Californian governor, who has a national profile and is openly considering running in 2028, had been seen as a potential rival to Harris as the candidate.

But he has repeatedly said he would not challenge her if she sought the nomination and has now endorsed her, describing her as “Tough. Fearless. Tenacious.”

“With our democracy at stake and our future on the line, no one is better to prosecute the case against Donald Trump’s dark vision and guide our country in a healthier direction than America’s Vice President, @KamalaHarris”.