US President Joe Biden to use Oval Office address to explain decision to bow out of 2024 race
US President Joe Biden is set to deliver a speech from the White House to explain why he bowed out of the race to win another term, with a little over three months to go until election day.
It will be Biden’s first public address since his announcement via social media on Sunday that he had ended his bid for a second term and was endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris.
Biden has kept a low profile since last week when he came down with a COVID-19 infection and went into isolation at his private residence in the state of Delaware.
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During the four-minute phone call, Biden said that while he will not be on the ballot, he will still be “fully engaged” in the last six months of his presidency.
Biden returned to Washington DC on Tuesday night, after testing negative for COVID-19.
He will give his speech from the Oval Office at 8pm on Wednesday (10am AEST on Thursday).
The president’s decision threw the contest into chaos but also offered Biden’s Democrats a chance to change the narrative in the fight against Republican nominee Donald Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House after leaving it in 2021.
In his speech, Biden is expected to tout his accomplishments over the past three-and-a-half years and make the case for a Harris presidency.
Harris, who would be the first female president in US history if elected, is already holding rallies, and her campaign team said that it has raised more than $US100 million ($A152 million) since Sunday afternoon.
Trump is on Wednesday due to hold his first campaign rally since Harris emerged as his near-certain Democratic foe.
The former president will appear at an event in Charlotte, North Carolina, a state that will be an important battleground in the November 5 election.
The Trump campaign has insisted it is prepared for Harris’ candidacy, arguing she serves as a proxy for Biden on the economic and immigration policies that contributed to his sinking popularity with voters.
- With Reuters
