Joe Biden drops out of race to be re-elected as US president

Joe Biden, who is the current president of the United States, has pulled out of the race to be re-elected.

It means he's no longer in the running to be chosen as the country's leader again in November this year when the US presidential elections take place.

However, he will continue to serve as the US president until January, which is when the new leader officially takes over.

Lots of questions have been raised about Mr Biden's age and health in recent months following his performance during a debate with former president Donald Trump in June.

The president, who is 81 years old, also got the names of world leaders and people within his own Democratic Party mixed up at the Nato summit in Washington earlier this month, which has caused concern about his ability to do the top job.

Mr Biden announced in a written statement released on Sunday 21 July that it was the "greatest honour" to serve the US but his withdrawal was best for both the Democrats and the nation.

"While it has been my intention to seek re-election, 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 said.

He also said he will be giving more details on his decision later this week and thanked those who had been working hard to help him get re-elected, as well as his vice-president Kamala Harris.

Who will become the new presidential nominee for the Democratic Party?

Kamala Harris has served alongside Joe Biden since 2020

Joe Biden has said he's backing Vice-President Kamala Harris to take over from him as the Democratic Party candidate for president.

A number of other senior Democrats have also said they support Ms Harris.

Kamala Harris, who was elected as the first female vice-president in 2020, has served alongside the president for the last three and a half years.

The vice-president said she was "honoured" to be endorsed by Joe Biden.

She says her goal is to "earn and win this nomination" and unite both the Democratic Party and the country to defeat former president Donald Trump at the upcoming election.

"We have 107 days until election day," she said. "Together, we will fight. And together, we will win."

What happens next?

Kamala Harris could be chosen as the next Democratic Party presidential nominee

Although Kamala Harris has been backed by many big figures in the Democratic Party, she hasn't been officially nominated as the party's candidate yet.

This may not happen until the Democratic National Convention in August.

What has Donald Trump said?

Trump faced Biden during a debate in June

Former president Donald Trump, who is the Republican Party candidate and is campaigning to be re-elected as the US president this year, said Joe Biden "was not fit to run... and is certainly not fit to serve" the US.

Other senior Republicans joined him in their criticism, and called on Mr Biden to leave the White House immediately, and not just step down from the Democratic candidacy.