US President Joe Biden is set to deliver what might be his final Oval Office speech on Wednesday, explaining his decision to withdraw from the November election and countering claims that he will be a lame duck president for the next six months.
Amid heightened anticipation of a showdown between Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump, Biden will emphasize that he remains committed to his presidential duties despite his historic decision to step aside.
In a post on X, the 81-year-old Democrat announced he would address “what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people” during the primetime televised event at 8:00 pm (0000 GMT Thursday).
This eight to ten-minute speech will be Biden’s first since withdrawing from the race on Sunday, following intense pressure after a poor debate performance against Trump. He had previously promised to provide more details about his unexpected decision during this speech, which he made while isolating with Covid at his Delaware beach home.
The address follows just over a week after his last Oval Office speech, which was in response to an assassination attempt against Trump on July 13. This will be only the fourth Oval Office address of his presidency and could potentially be his last.
With Harris effectively securing the Democratic presidential nomination and Trump resuming his campaign activities, Biden faces a significant challenge in demonstrating that he is still relevant. Republicans argue that if Biden is not fit to run for reelection, he should step down from his presidency altogether.
Biden maintains that he still has significant work to do, particularly focusing on the economy and striving for a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
Biden, who is scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Thursday, has indicated that they are close to achieving a ceasefire in Gaza. This pursuit of a legacy-defining Middle East peace deal follows in the footsteps of former presidents Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and even Donald Trump.
However, with events rapidly unfolding, Netanyahu will also meet separately with Harris on Thursday, as she will be absent from his address to Congress due to a previously scheduled campaign trip. Meanwhile, Trump announced on Truth Social that he will meet with Netanyahu on Friday at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
As his presidency nears its end, Biden expressed on X late Tuesday that it was “great to be back at the White House” after returning from Delaware, where he had met with his national security team for a briefing.
Biden’s decision to withdraw has revitalized a Democratic Party that had been grappling with concerns over his age. Harris, energized by this development, received enthusiastic support during a campaign rally in Wisconsin, her first since securing the delegates necessary for the nomination. She could be officially nominated as early as August in a virtual vote by Democratic delegates ahead of the party’s convention in Chicago later that month.
For Harris, the challenge will be maintaining this momentum and converting it into electoral success in November. Trump, expected to hold a rally in Charlotte later on Wednesday, will likely intensify his attacks on Harris, especially as a national poll conducted after Biden’s withdrawal showed her slightly ahead.
The implications of Biden’s decision are becoming clearer for Americans weary of the extended contest between him and Trump. Non-profit voter registration group Vote.org reported registering nearly 40,000 new voters in the 48 hours following Biden’s announcement, marking a nearly 700 percent increase in daily registrations. “That’s the largest number of new voters registered over a 48-hour period we’ve seen this entire cycle,” said Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey on X.