Biden set to address nation for first time since dropping out of 2024 race
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President Joe Biden will address the nation to explain his shock decision to exit the 2024 presidential race and lay out the final months of his administration from the Oval Office on Wednesday.
In a statement posted to X (formerly Twitter), Biden said he would speak at 8:00 pm about “what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people.”
“Tomorrow evening at 8 PM ET, I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people,” he said.
Biden announced his decision to not seek re-election on Sunday and swiflty endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris. Since then, Harris has secured enough delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee. On Monday, her campaign announced that she had raised $81 million in 24 hours since Biden exited the race.
But Biden was still recovering from Covid-19 at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware when he made his announcement and therefore was not able to speak to the nation.
“I think it’s going to help us overall,” Representative Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House Armed Service who called on Biden to drop out, told The Independent. “You’ve seen it. The energy that’s come back to the campaign, the palpable feeling that we’re in a better position now and the excitement about Kamala Harris.
Multiple Democrats had called on Biden to exit the race after his poor performance in his first and only debate against former president Donald Trump. Shortly afterward, plenty of Democrats have thrown their support behind Harris and praised Biden’s decision to step aside as a patriotic move.
Biden had consistently polled well below Trump throughout the 2024 presidential contest even before the debate as he faced persistent questions about his age.
The president last addressed Americans from the Oval Office last Sunday in the wake of a gunman shooting Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Biden’s address called for cooling the political temperature.
