Pete Buttigieg, the US Secretary of Transportation and the first openly gay cabinet member in America’s history, has endorsed Kamala Harris for President after Joe Biden’s sudden departure from the Presidential race.
On Sunday Joe Biden, who has been campaigning for re-election, made a shock announcement that he would be stepping down from the ticket and exiting the campaign.
While some believed that Buttigieg would be put up as replacement for Biden on the Democrats’ campaign, he has instead put his endorsement behind current Vice President Kamala Harris for the next President of the United States.
Buttigieg’s endorsement adds significant weight behind Harris’ campaign to lead the ticket for the Democratic Party.
Pete Buttigieg gives endorsement to Kamala Harris
In a statement released on Monday morning Australian time, Buttigieg commended the leadership Biden provided in his time as President.
“Joe Biden has earned his place among the best and most consequential presidents in our history. Americans are much better off because of his leadership and accomplishments.
“He always puts our country first, as he demonstrated today, and I know he will continue to do so for the rest of his term,” Buttigieg said.
“Kamala Harris is now the right person to take up the torch,” Buttigieg continued.
He said he has “seen her extraordinary leadership firsthand” during the 2020 campaign – the year that Buttigieg himself sought the Democratic Party nomination for President.
Buttigieg concludes the statement by saying he will he “will do all that [he] can to help her win this election”.
I will do all that I can to help elect @KamalaHarris the next President of the United States. pic.twitter.com/bHkiqpa7Lg
— Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) July 21, 2024
Biden’s shock departure from Presidential campaign
The announcement from Joe Biden that he will be stepping down from the campaign, allowing another Democrat to face the Republican nominee, President Donald Trump, shocked the world early this morning.
There have been widespread calls for Biden to step down, and plenty of speculation that the President’s health is not good enough for him to be re-elected.
These calls have been backed by Biden fumbling over words during speeches, calling other politicians by the wrong names – including calling Harris ‘Vice President Donald Trump’ – and recently contracting COVID-19.
Biden’s letter of withdrawal from the Presidential race thanked Americans for their support.
“While it has been my intention to seek re-election, 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,” Mr Biden said in a written statement.
“I will speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision.
“It has been the greatest honour of my life to serve as your President.”
pic.twitter.com/RMIRvlSOYw
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2024
The 2024 Democratic National Convention is set to go ahead in Chicago next month, while the Republican National Convention – which the internet dubbed ‘the Grindr Superbowl’ due to sudden outages of the app happening at the same time in the same area – finished up last week.
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