CNN
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Messages of gratitude and support flooded in following US President Joe Biden’s shock announcement on Sunday that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as the next Democratic nominee.
It was the second shockwave in U.S. politics in just over a week since the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania on July 13, where world leaders rallied around Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Biden had been under growing pressure to withdraw from the race since his disastrous defeat in last month’s CNN presidential debate, but on Sunday he made it clear he would remain a one-term president, sparking a flood of tributes from U.S. allies thanking him for his leadership.
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Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives to attend the 2024 North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit in Washington, DC on July 11, 2024.
British Prime Minister Starmer, who met with Biden in Washington this month, said he respected the president’s decision and looked forward to working with him for the remainder of his term.
“I know that, as he has done throughout his distinguished career, he will make decisions based on his convictions about what is best for the American people,” Starmer wrote to X.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau thanked Biden for being a “true friend” of his country. “He is a great man and everything he does is guided by his love for his country,” the prime minister said at the X.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said at a news conference that Biden deserved credit for “putting what he believed was in the best interests of the United States of America first, as he has done throughout his career in public office.”
“President Biden has dedicated his life to public service and deserves great respect for that,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said on X.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked Biden for his “unwavering support” as the U.S. backed his country’s war against Russia with weapons, military aid and diplomatic support despite Republican opposition.
“Many strong decisions have been made in recent years that will be remembered as bold steps taken by President Biden to respond to challenging times,” Zelensky said on Twitter. “We will always be grateful to President Biden for his leadership.”
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow was “not that surprised” by Biden’s withdrawal. “What has been happening in the United States in recent years has taught us not to be surprised by anything,” Peskov told reporters on Monday.
“This issue concerns American voters, but not us,” he said, adding: “What is very important to us is the future of Russian-American relations, which are currently going through the worst period in their history.”
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said this at a press conference in Kyiv, Ukraine on July 15, 2024.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said his country would remain Washington’s “indispensable ally” in the Middle East regardless of who wins the US presidential election.
Speaking on the tarmac at Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion Airport on Monday before boarding a flight to the US, Netanyahu said the visit was an opportunity to thank Biden “for his service to the State of Israel during the war and during his tenure as senator, vice president and president.”
Isaac Herzog described Biden as “a true ally of the Jewish people,” while Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said in a post on X that “the U.S. president’s unwavering support, especially during the war, has been invaluable.”
Biden has been one of the biggest supporters of Israel’s war on Gaza since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, but he has been at odds with Netanyahu over humanitarian aid and the conflict’s rising civilian death toll.
Irish Prime Minister Simon Harris called Biden a “proud American with an Irish soul” and thanked him for his “global leadership” and “friendship.”
Other leaders praised Biden for making the difficult decision to withdraw from the race.
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Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke to media after meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on July 18, 2023.
“My friend Joe Biden has achieved a lot for his country, for Europe and for the world,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz wrote to X. “His decision not to run again is one to be respected.”
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said at a rally on Sunday that Biden had made the “right” decision and put his family and health first. The president wished Biden “good health and a long life.”
Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk wrote to X that Biden had made a difficult decision and that “Poland, America and the world are safer and our democracy is stronger because of it.”
“I know that the same motivations drove me when I announced my final decision, which was probably the most difficult one,” Tusk said.
The leaders of South Korea and Japan said they would not comment on domestic U.S. politics but stressed the need to continue cooperating with the White House. The two countries have mutual defense treaties with the United States and Biden has been a strong proponent of strengthening ties between the Asian allies to counter an increasingly assertive China.
“I understand that President Biden’s decision is based on his desire to make the best political decision possible,” Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said. “The Japan-U.S. alliance is the linchpin of our country’s diplomatic security, and we will continue to monitor it closely.”
South Korean President Yoon Seok-yeo said, “We will continue to cooperate closely with the United States to further develop the ROK-U.S. global comprehensive strategic alliance.”
Philippine President Ferdinand Bongbong Marcos Jr. said Biden’s “decision to decline candidacy is a testament to his true statesmanship.”
“I thank him for his always unwavering support for the Philippines in these delicate and difficult times,” he wrote. The Philippines, a U.S. treaty ally, has been embroiled in increasingly violent conflicts with Chinese vessels in the South China Sea in recent years.
As of Monday morning local time, there had been no official comment from Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
But on China’s X-like social platform Weibo, “Biden withdraws from election” was the top trending topic early Monday, with five related topics, including discussions of Kamala Harris and the assassination attempt on Trump, collectively garnering more than 400 million views.
Some Chinese social media users have excitedly speculated about the possibility of a woman becoming US president, while others believe Trump will win no matter who the Democratic nominee is.
“This shot was definitely a good deal for Trump!” one Weibo user wrote.
“That bullet didn’t kill Trump but it took down Biden,” one user commented, while another described the US political situation as “total chaos.”
