dpa
Washington
US President Joe Biden will on Wednesday address the nation for the first time in public since dropping his re-election bid and backing Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic presidential candidate.
Biden wrote Tuesday on X that his Oval Office speech will be about “what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people.” It is scheduled for 8pm on Wednesday (0000 GMT Thursday).
Biden, 81, has been out of the public view since late last week as he recovers from a COVID-19 infection at his residence in Delaware. He has not spoken in front of cameras since his stunning decision on Sunday to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race. He ended the bid after a disastrous debate performance in June that sent his campaign spinning as concerns were raised about his age and mental fitness.
Biden had faced escalating pressure to drop out from within his party and from major donors to Democrats, especially as poll numbers showed Republican nominee Donald Trump’s support growing in critical battleground states.
Political watchers had warned that Democrats could be plagued by in-fighting over choosing Biden’s replacement. But the centre-left party quickly coalesced around Harris after Biden gave her his immediate endorsement.
Party leaders and delegates say Biden’s decision has re-energized Democrats as they scramble to launch Harris’ campaign to take on Trump in November. Harris’ path to becoming the Democrats’ official nominee at their national convention in Chicago next month was cleared on Monday evening.
US media outlets, which have been tracking the endorsements of delegates to the convention, said she had secured pledges from far more than the 1,976 delegates needed. Harris, who would be the first female president if elected, was due to hold her first campaign rally later on Tuesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
