Australian political leaders praise Biden's decision to withdraw

Australia’s political leaders have praised Joe Biden’s decision to pull out of the presidential race, adding that his presidency has been good for Australia.

The leaders of both major parties agree the US President has done the right thing in stepping aside and not seeking a second term.

President Biden ended his re-election bid early on Monday (Australian time) and threw his support behind his Vice-President Kamala Harris to contest the presidency against Donald Trump.

The incumbent President’s campaign all but imploded in recent weeks, with an abysmal debate performance and continued gaffes giving rise to concerns about his fitness and ability to serve another term in light of his age.

As senior democrats and major sponsors lined up to pull their support for Mr Biden, Republicans made the most of it, allowing former president Trump to continue his ascendancy in the polls.

The assassination attempt on Mr Trump appeared to cement his popularity even more.

President Biden’s withdrawal from the race has dramatically changed the political landscape ahead of the November presidential election.

“My fellow Democrats, I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” the President said in an issued statement.

“My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made.

“Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year. Democrats — it’s time to come together and beat Trump. Let’s do this.”

Anthony Albanese praised the 81-year-old President’s decision.

“Today, President Biden has made the difficult decision to not seek re-election at the presidential election that will be held in November,” the Prime Minister 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.

“One of my first events as Prime Minister was to travel to the Quad meeting that was held in Tokyo within days of my election in May of 2022.

“It was wonderful to reacquaint myself with President Biden, who I had met when he was Vice President under President Obama. And since then, we have had a number of meetings on the sidelines of international summits, but also during my official visit to the United States last year … 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 …

“President Biden deserves today, I think, to be recognised for once again not putting himself forward first, but giving his first consideration to being what he believes is in the interests of the United States of America, as he has done his whole public life. And I pay tribute to him today.”

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton also believes President Biden’s term in office has been good for Australia and has strengthened trading and security ties between the two nations.

He seemed to agree that pulling out of the race was a good move for Mr Biden, but emphasised that the President had always “done the right thing” by Australia.

Mr Dutton said he met with Mr Biden in New York during AUKUS talks and found the President to be “a great friend” to Australia and a leader who had “strengthened the relationship between our two countries”.

“The fact that President Biden has given his entire adult life to public service is something we should trumpet today as well,” the Opposition Leader said.

Government Services Minister Bill Shorten was asked his views while making a television appearance on Monday, and said Mr Biden was putting his nation’s best interests first and not “his own ego or his own pride”.

“I think Joe Biden’s been very good for Australia-American relations. And I also salute Joe Biden for his service,” Mr Shorten said.

“It takes a person of exceedingly strong character to walk away from power. It hasn’t happened very often in American politics. I think the last time it happened was Lyndon Johnson in 1968, and before then, probably only about four times in the whole history of America.”