'A great friend of Australia': Albanese on Biden's presidency
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More news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to Joe Biden at a press conference in Cairns this morning, after the US President announced that he would end his re-election campaign.
What they said: Albanese said: "As he's done throughout his entire time in public life, he has acted in what he considers to be the best interests of the United States of America. He is someone who, in January, will be able to retire from public life with an extraordinary record."
"... President Biden has a record of engagement in the Indo-Pacific and increasing the relationship through AUKUS, which was, of course, finalised at the meeting that we held in San Diego also at the beginning of last year. The AUKUS relationship is just one aspect of the closeness between Australia and the United States.
"It's also been a period in which President Biden has presided over an increase in the economic relationship between our two great nations, but also the important cooperation that has taken place in climate change action. The Inflation Reduction Act is no doubt the most significant piece of legislation to reduce emissions introduced anywhere in the world."
"... President Biden has been a great friend of Australia and that will continue. And I look forward to meeting with President Biden at the G20 and at the APEC summits that will be held later this year.
Asked if he would like to see Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, Albanese said: "Well, that's a matter for the Democratic Party. And the Democrats will have their convention just as the Republicans had their convention last week".
"I think that the election in November will be one which is watched by Australians but watched by people around the world, because who the President of the United States is has an impact on the world as the world's largest economy and as an important partner of Australia, not just in security issues, but in economic issues as well," he said.
Trump calls for September debate to be moved from ABC to Fox News
More news: Donald Trump has called for the next election debate, slated for September, to be moved from ABC to Fox News.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said: "My debate with Crooked Joe Biden, the Worst President in the history of the United States, was slated to be broadcast on Fake News ABC, the home of George Slopadopolus, sometime in September".
"Now that Joe has, not surprisingly, has quit the race, I think the Debate, with whomever the Radical Left Democrats choose, should be held on FoxNews, rather than very biased ABC. Thank you! DJT"
Meanwhile, more than a dozen Republicans have echoed Trump's call for Joe Biden to step down as US President, Reuters reported.
House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson and Trump's running mate JD Vance were among those urging Biden to leave office rather than see out the rest of his term.
"If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough," said Johnson, who is next in line to the presidency after Vice President Kamala Harris.
Vance posted on X: "If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining President?"
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said Biden would continue to serve.
Elsewhere, Harris has received endorsements from former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as well as Senate Democrats such as Elizabeth Warren, Patty Murray, Mark Warner, Mark Kelly and Tina Smith.
'Leadership can be a lonely place': Australian leaders pay tribute to Biden
More news: Prime Minister Anthony Albanese led tributes from Australian political leaders after US President Joe Biden announced that he is ending his re-election campaign.
What they said: Albanese posted on X: "Thank you for your leadership and ongoing service President Biden. The Australia-US Alliance has never been stronger with our shared commitment to democratic values, international security, economic prosperity and climate action for this and future generations."
Opposition Leader Peter Dutton posted: "On behalf of the Coalition and Federal Opposition, I thank Joe Biden for his service and leadership as the 46th President of the United States."
"In particular, I thank President Biden for launching the defence endeavour of AUKUS which the peoples of our two countries carry forward with energy and determination," he said. "Like American Presidents before him, Joe Biden has been a leader resolutely committed to the Alliance. I thank the President for the support and abiding friendship he has shown to Australia."
In a statement, Australian ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd said: "Leadership can be a lonely place. We can all take a pause to recognise, and respect, the difficult decision President Joe Biden has made today."
"Thank you for your service, Mr President, and for always being guided by what you believe is best for your country," he said. "The US-Australia relationship has prospered under your leadership."
Trump calls on Biden to resign, Harris says she's running
More news: Donald Trump responded moments after Joe Biden announced he was ending his 2024 campaign, saying Biden should also resign from the presidency.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said Biden "was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve."
In a phone call to CNN, he also said he thinks Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden has endorsed to succeed him, will be easier to defeat than Biden would have been.
Harris, meanwhile, thanked Biden for his service and said she was "honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination" in a statement posted on X.
The Democrats are set to hold their convention in Chicago from 19-22 August. With Biden withdrawing, there will now be an open contest in which almost 4,700 candidates will need to choose his replacement. While Biden cannot pass the delegates who have pledged to support him to another candidate, his endorsement of Harris will be influential.
The vice-presidential nomination is then determined by a separate vote. Traditionally, the convention ratifies the choice of the presidential nominee, but it is unclear whether this will happen this year.
Joe Biden ends re-election bid, endorses Kamala Harris as replacement
The news: US President Joe Biden, 81, announced he is ending his re-election campaign, bowing to relentless pressure from his closest allies amid serious doubts about his age and health impacting his chances against former President Donald Trump.
In a letter posted on X announcing the unprecedented move on Sunday, Biden said he will continue serving as president until January 2025. In a second social media post, Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to succeed him.
"It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President," Biden said, only days before he was due to be officially nominated at the Democratic National Convention.
"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," he wrote.
The context: Biden's decision comes after mounting pressure from Democratic leaders and concerns raised by his performance in a 27 June debate against Trump.
His withdrawal clears the path for Harris to potentially run for president and make history as the first Black woman to do so. It remains unclear, however, if other senior Democrats will contest the nomination or if the party will open the field for other candidates.
The numbers: Over 30 Democratic lawmakers had publicly urged Biden to step aside from the presidential race. Despite holding firm for three weeks after the debate, Biden yielded to a torrent of polls showing him trailing Trump and voter preference for a younger candidate.
What they said: "I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year," Biden said in the second post on X. "Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this."
The sources: Joe Biden post, The New York Times, Reuters, PMO
