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Pete Buttigieg endorses Kamala Harris after Joe Biden’s surprise exit

Posted on by angelo
Pete Buttigieg endorses Kamala Harris after Joe Biden’s surprise exit

Pete Buttigieg, the US Secretary of Transportation and the first openly gay cabinet member in US history, has endorsed Kamala Harris for president following Joe Biden’s sudden exit from the presidential race.

On Sunday, Joe Biden, who is campaigning for re-election, made a surprise announcement: he was withdrawing from the list and leaving the campaign.

While some thought Buttigieg would be presented as a replacement for Biden in the Democratic campaign, he instead threw his support behind current Vice President Kamala Harris for the next president of the United States.

Buttigieg’s support adds significant weight to Harris’ campaign to lead the Democratic Party ticket.

Pete Buttigieg endorses Kamala Harris

In a statement released Monday morning Australian time, Buttigieg praised Biden’s leadership during his time as president.

“Joe Biden has earned his place among the best and most influential presidents in our history. Americans are much better off because of his leadership and accomplishments.

“He has always put our country first, as he demonstrated today, and I know he will continue to do so for the remainder of his term,” Buttigieg said.

“Kamala Harris is now the ideal person to take up the torch,” Buttigieg continued.

He said he “saw firsthand his extraordinary leadership” during the 2020 campaign — the year Buttigieg himself sought the Democratic presidential nomination.

Buttigieg concluded his statement by saying he would “do everything I can to help win this election.”

Biden’s surprise exit from presidential campaign

Joe Biden’s announcement that he was withdrawing from the campaign, allowing another Democrat to take on Republican nominee President Donald Trump, shocked the world early this morning.

There have been widespread calls for Biden to resign, and there has been widespread speculation that the president is not in good enough health to seek re-election.

Those calls were bolstered by Biden’s clumsy choice of words during speeches, calling other politicians by the wrong names — including calling Harris “Vice President Donald Trump” — and recently contracting COVID-19.

Biden’s withdrawal letter from presidential race thanks Americans for their support.

“While I intend to run for re-election, I believe it is in the best interests of my party and the country that I step aside and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Mr. Biden said this in a written statement.

“I will speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision.

“It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president.”

The 2024 Democratic National Convention is scheduled to take place in Chicago next month, while the Republican National Convention — which the internet has dubbed “the Grindr Superbowl” due to sudden outages of the app occurring at the same time in the same region — ended last week.