US President Joe Biden has announced today, July 21, that he will be ending his re-election campaign.

In his announcement, Biden shared that the decision was " in the best interest of my party and the country."

It comes just four months before Americans head to the polls to decide the new US president to step into the White House.

In recent weeks Biden has faced intense pressure from members of the Democratic party following his debate performance against Republican candidate Donald Trump.

Biden plans to serve out the remainder of his term in office, which ends at noon on January 20, 2025.

Joe Biden withdraws from US presidential election

Sharing the announcement on X, formerly Twitter, Biden said: "While it has been my intention to seek reelection, 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 the duties as President for the remainder of my term".

He added that he plans to speak to the nation later this week in "more detail" about his decision.

Biden went on to thank those working to help him get re-elected as well as Vice President Kamala Harris describing her as an "extraordinary partner in all this work".

He did not immediately throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris, the party’s instant favourite for the nomination at its August convention in Chicago.