welcome back breaking news here on Sky News coming in to us from the United States and President Joe Biden says he is stepping down from the US presidential election campaign he will not run in the US election 2024 uh we have a statement here coming into us at Sky News I I'll read that to you now it starts uh July 21st 2024 my fellow Americans over the past three and a half years we have made great progress as a nation today America has the strongest economy in the world we've made historic investments in rebuilding our nation in lowering prescription drug costs for seniors and expanding Affordable Health Care to a record number of Americans we've provided critically needed care to a million veterans exposed to toxic substances past the first gun saf law in 30 years appointed the first African-American woman to the Supreme Court and passed the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today I know none of this would have come or been done without you the American people together we overcame a once in a century pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression we've protected and preserved our democracy and we've revitalized and strengthened our alliances around the world it has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president he goes on and while it has been my intention to seek reelection 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 I will speak to the nation later this week in more detail about my decision for now let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected I want to thank vice president Carmela Harris for being an extraordinary partner in all this work and let me express my heartfelt appreciation to the American people for the faith and trust you have placed in me I believe today what I always have there is nothing America can't do when we do it together we just have to remember we are the United States of America uh breaking news tonight here on Sky News President Joe Biden has withdrawn his bid to become the next president of uh the United States