US Elections 2024: Two hours after Biden’s endorsement, Donald Trump leads 65-29 against Kamala Harris, forecast shows

US Elections 2024: Forecast by Polymarket has shown that despite Joe Biden withdrawing from the United States presidential race and endorsing new Democratic Party candidate Kamal Harris, Donald Trump was still leading two hours later.

The Republican candidate and former US President was leading against opponent Harris 65-29 in the 2024 US elections race, it said.

Joe Biden Withdraws from US Presidential Race

Biden, 81, announced his decision on July 21 (US time), and said he was acting in the “best interest of my party and the country” by bowing to weeks of pressure after a disastrous June debate against Trump stoked worries about his age and mental fitness, as per an AFP report.

Only four days before Sunday's announcement, Biden was diagnosed with COVID-19.

“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. 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,” Biden wrote on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), after the announcement.

Harris vs Trump for November Showdown

Biden's move throws Democrats into fresh turmoil ahead of the US' November 5 election, but could also reenergize the demoralized party, with Harris swiftly confirming her goal to become America's first woman president and to "defeat Donald Trump."

Notably, this dramatic shift will likely wrong-foot Republicans, whose campaign was solely focused on Biden and will now instead feature 78-year-old Trump — now the oldest presidential nominee in US history, against a far younger opponent in Harris.

In a statement Sunday responding to the news, Trump campaign senior adviser Chris LaCivita lashed out against Harris, insisting she “will be even WORSE for the people of our Nation than Joe Biden. They own each other’s records, and there is no distance between the two.”

Overall, the switch to Harris transforms what had been a highly unpopular and dragging Trump-Biden rematch into one of the most compelling presidential campaigns in modern American politics.