Former President Barack Obama has released a rather lengthy statement following President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the race for the U.S. presidency. 

Obama published the statement via Medium. It can be found in its entirety here.

One of the things that makes Obama's statement so interesting is that many believe that Obama is the person who essentially made the call for Biden to drop out of the running. Yes, it is true that lots of Democrats also made the call, but Biden did not officially drop out until after Obama made the decision.

This is something to keep in mind as you read Obama's statement.

"A dear friend"

We'll touch on some of the highlights of Obama's statement here.

The former president begins, "Joe Biden has been one of America’s most consequential presidents, as well as a dear friend and partner to me. Today, we’ve also been reminded — again — that he’s a patriot of the highest order."

From here, Obama went on to offer a rather large amount of praise for Biden. The former president defended Biden's decades in government, claiming that they were a success. It is rather bizarre hearing this from the person who forced Biden out.

One final interesting point to make about Obama's statement is that, unlike Biden, Obama chose not to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Biden.

Instead, Obama wrote, "We will be navigating uncharted waters in the days ahead. But I have extraordinary confidence that the leaders of our party will be able to create a process from which an outstanding nominee emerges."

The "grudge"

Just before Biden dropped out of the running, Axios published a report, titled, "Biden's Obama grudge drives 2024 resolve."

"President Biden's lingering regret and anger from when Democrats pushed him not to run in 2016 is fueling his determination to stay in the race in 2024, current and former Biden aides told Axios," the outlet reports.

It continues, "Several people close to Biden said they believe his bitterness toward former President Obama, and the congressional Democrats now trashing him, is making the president more determined to continue his campaign even as some of his own aides think an exit is inevitable."

This makes Obama's statement, following Biden's decision to drop out, even more interesting to read.

Biden, at the time of this writing, has not had anything to say about Obama - or anything else for that matter. Fox reports, "President Biden has not been seen publicly since a letter was released announcing that he would no longer seek re-election and is endorsing Vice President Harris to replace him as the Democrats' nominee."