As Joe Biden quits US Presidential race, here's what Barack Obama said

Biden on Wednesday night said that he is 'passing the torch to a new generation' as he explained his abrupt departure from the 2024 presidential race to Americans for the first time, in an Oval Office address capping over 50 years in politics.

Former US president Barack Obama on Thursday said that President Joe Biden has stayed true to his words again and again about a lifetime of service to the American people.

In a post on X, Obama wrote, "The sacred cause of this country is larger than any one of us."

Biden on Wednesday night said that he is "passing the torch to a new generation" as he explained his abrupt departure from the 2024 presidential race, for the first time, in an Oval Office address capping over 50 years in politics.

Biden, 81, rebuffed weeks of pressure from Democrats to step aside after a disastrous debate performance on June 27, saying at one point that only the "Lord Almighty" could convince him to go.

Biden made his decision after days of soul-searching and agonising over internal polling that predicted he could lose against Republican Donald Trump in November and drag down fellow Democrats with him.

(With Reuters inputs)