Washington — Former President Barack Obama commended President Biden "a patriot of the highest order" in a statement on his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race for the White House but did not follow in Mr. Biden's footsteps and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris for the nomination.
"Joe Biden has been one of America's most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me," the statement released Sunday said, adding that Mr. Biden "pointed us away from the four years of chaos, falsehood, and division that had characterized Donald Trump's administration."
He added, "I also know Joe has never backed down from a fight. For him to look at the political landscape and decide that he should pass the torch to a new nominee is surely one of the toughest in his life. But I know he wouldn't make this decision unless he believed it was right for America. It's a testament to Joe Biden's love of country — and a historic example of a genuine public servant once again putting the interests of the American people ahead of his own that future generations of leaders will do well to follow."
But Obama did not endorse Harris in the statement, saying the Democratic Party "will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead," but he has "extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges."
"I believe that Joe Biden's vision of a generous, prosperous, and united America that provides opportunity for everyone will be on full display at the Democratic Convention in August," Obama said. "And I expect that every single one of us are prepared to carry that message of hope and progress forward into November and beyond."
Obama has campaigned with his former vice president a couple times this year, but was publicly silent about the calls for Mr. Biden to withdraw from the race, which came amid reporting from several news outlets that Obama was expressing concern behind the scenes about his chances of winning in November.
Obama picked Mr. Biden, then a senator representing Delaware since 1973, in 2008 to be his vice president.
Caitlin Yilek is a politics reporter at CBSNews.com, based in Washington, D.C. She previously worked for the Washington Examiner and The Hill, and was a member of the 2022 Paul Miller Washington Reporting Fellowship with the National Press Foundation.
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