Obama praises Biden after ending White House bid, warns of 'uncharted waters'

Former US President Barack Obama on Sunday (local time) applauded President Joe Biden for his decision to end his re-election campaign, calling him a "patriot of the highest order". However, he did not make clear whether he backed Biden's decision to endorse Vice-President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee, although he stated that Biden "has never backed down from a fight".

In a statement, Obama described 81-year-old Biden, who served as his Vice-President from 2009 to 2017, as one of the US's "most consequential presidents" and acknowledged that the country would be "navigating unchartered waters" in the next few days.

"But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges," Obama said.

Praising Biden's record, Obama said the 81-year-old President had "every right" to run for re-election and said his decision to back out from the White House showed his "love for the country".

"Joe understands better than anyone the stakes in this election — how everything he has fought for throughout his life, and everything that the Democratic Party stands for, will be at risk if we allow Donald Trump back in the White House and give Republicans control of Congress," he said.

"I also know Joe has never backed down from a fight. For him to look at the political landscape and decide that he should pass the torch to a new nominee is surely one of the toughest in his life. But I know he wouldn’t make this decision unless he believed it was right for America," the former President said.

"It’s a testament to Joe Biden’s love of country — and a historic example of a genuine public servant once again putting the interests of the American people ahead of his own that future generations of leaders will do well to follow," he added.