President Biden will address the nation Wednesday night from the Oval Office in his first on-camera remarks since announcing his shock decision to give up the race for president.
The president will speak at 8 p.m. ET “about what lies ahead and how I will finish the job for the American people,” he said on X. The White House did not provide a preview of the president’s remarks.
Democrats have aligned themselves behind Vice President Kamala Harris, whom Mr. Biden endorsed for the Democratic nomination shortly after announcing he would end his campaign. Mr. Biden cannot name a successor for the Democratic nomination, but since his announcement on Sunday, Harris got approval by a majority of Democratic delegates.
But otherwise, the president has remained silent since the political earthquake and has said he will not run for re-election. he is recovering from COVID-19 symptoms US President Donald Trump has tested negative at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. The White House said Tuesday that the test was negative, although it was unclear exactly when it was negative. Mr Biden told reporters on Tuesday upon his return from Delaware that he felt “fine”.
In his Oval Office address, the president is expected to lay out what he plans to accomplish in his final six months as president.
Oval Office speeches are rare for any president, including Mr. Biden. Before last week, Mr. Biden had delivered only two Oval Office speeches in his three-and-a-half years as president. Last week, after the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.
Although Mr. Biden plans to join the campaign, withdrawing from the Democratic ticket allows him to focus on the task of the presidency itself, away from the most intense rigors of the campaign trail.
“I’m not going anywhere,” the president told his campaign team, now Harris’s campaign team, on Monday. “I’m going to campaign with her, with Kamala. I’m going to work my butt off, both as a sitting president, to pass legislation, and also to campaign.”
That Oval Office speech, along with any address the president makes at the Democratic National Convention, will be among the most critical not only of Mr. Biden’s presidency but of his legacy as he concludes more than five decades of public service.
How to watch President Biden’s Oval Office speech
- What: President Biden delivers remarks in the Oval Office after dropping out of the 2024 presidential race
- Date: Wednesday July 24, 2024
- Time: 8:00 p.m. ET
- Location: White House – Washington, DC
- Online broadcast: Live on CBS News in the player above and on your mobile device or streaming.
- TV: CBS stations (Find your local station here)
