Biden to address nation for first time since ending candidacy
President Biden on Wednesday night will deliver his first on-camera remarks since deciding not to seek reelection, he announced.
“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,” Biden posted on the social platform X.
The president has been recovering from COVID-19 since last Wednesday and has been isolating at his Rehoboth Beach, Del., home. He has not been seen in public since then, though he did phone in to his campaign headquarters Monday during a visit from Vice President Harris.
He is slated to return to the White House on Tuesday afternoon, more than a day before he is expected to make his first public appearance since being in isolation.
Biden was expected to travel Wednesday to Austin, Texas, to visit the Lyndon Baines Johnson Presidential Library and deliver remarks on the 60th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act. That trip has been rescheduled for Monday, the White House said.
Biden announced Sunday afternoon he would not run for a second term amid mounting pressure from elected Democrats for him to step aside, citing concerns he could not defeat former President Trump in November. A short time later, he endorsed Harris as the nominee.
Harris has quickly consolidated support among Democrats, already securing the backing of enough delegates to be the likely Democratic nominee.
Biden and his aides have said he intends to finish out the remainder of his term. He has cited securing the release of hostages being held by Hamas as a key priority in that time.
White House officials have also rejected calls from some Republicans for Biden to resign if he is not seeking reelection.
“He wants to continue to do the work,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said on “The View,” calling resignation demands “ridiculous.”
“This president is ready to continue to lead this country in a historic way,” she added.
Updated at 12:14 p.m. EDT
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