Joe Biden tells campaign staff leaving race was right thing to do

In his first comments since dropping out of the 2024 election, US President Joe Biden called into a campaign staff meeting in Delaware on Monday as his team transitions to supporting Vice-President Kamala Harris for president.

Biden, who is quarantining after contracting Covid-19, thanked the staff and told them to “embrace” Ms Harris because “she’s the best”.

“I know yesterday’s news was surprising and hard for you to hear, but it was the right thing to do,” Mr Biden told staffers.

Ms Harris and staffers had gathered at the campaign headquarters in Wilmington, Delaware one day after Mr Biden pulled out of the race for president and endorsed Ms Harris as his replacement.

Since then, millions of dollars in donations have poured into her campaign and leading Democrats have lined up to support her bid as the democratic nominee.

For weeks, Mr Biden faced increasing pressure to step aside over concerns about his ability to win another term, spurred by a poor performance in a debate against Republican Donald Trump.

On the call, Mr Biden acknowledged the team had “poured” their “heart and soul” into helping him stay in office for a second term but said, “I’m not going anywhere” and vowed to remain “fully engaged” in the campaign.