By Armando Hernandez
24 Jul 2024, 23:31 PM EDT
Hours after U.S. President Joe Biden said Wednesday he had dropped out of the race against Republican Donald Trump over concerns about the country’s future, first lady Jill Biden thanked those who supported her husband.
In her first comment on President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from his re-election campaign, Jill, in an X post, said: “To those who never wavered, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed, my heart is full of gratitude.”
Following her husband’s brief speech in which he spoke publicly for the first time about his decision to end his re-election campaign for the November elections, Jill Biden shared with her followers a handwritten letter to “who never doubted” and asked for the same support for the new Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris.
“To those who never doubted, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed, my heart is full of gratitude. Thank you for the trust you placed in Joe; now it is time to place that trust in Kamala.”reads the message that the first lady shared on X and Instagram.
The first lady is expected to continue to boost Vice President Kamala Harris, as analysts say Jill Biden has been the president’s fiercest protector and closest adviser over the past three and a half years, wielding influence from the White House to the campaign trail.
For its part, The president said that “personal ambition” could not come before “saving” democracy American, in what were his first statements to explain the decision to end his re-election campaign.
“I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, and my vision for America’s future all justify a second term, but nothing can stand in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition,” the president said in a speech to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House.
President Biden was joined by his scandal-hit first son, Hunter Biden, and his daughter Finnegan Bidenjust outside the frame of his televised speech.
Hunter Biden, 54, who is facing sentencing on a gun charge, reportedly advised his father to continue running alongside first lady Jill Biden, according to The New York Post.
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