Biden is expected to address the nation from the Oval Office at 8 pm Wednesday
President Biden will address the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday at 8 PM ET. This will be his first address from the Oval Office since officially withdrawing from the 2024 presidential race.
Biden announced his upcoming address on his X account, stating, “Tomorrow 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 had been in self-isolation in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, since last Wednesday due to a COVID-19 diagnosis. This forced him to cancel events in Las Vegas and return home. After experiencing mild symptoms and general malaise, he tested negative on Tuesday and returned to the White House.
His return to Washington on Tuesday was the first time he was seen in public since suspending his re-election bid on Sunday and since his COVID-19 diagnosis on July 17.
In his address on Wednesday, Biden is expected to provide more details about his decision to leave the 2024 race. Despite previous assurances from him, his campaign, and the White House that he would stay in the race and was determined to win a rematch against former President Trump, Biden faced increasing pressure from Democratic allies and media outlets to step down.
This pressure intensified after a poorly received debate performance on June 27, where Biden made several garbled remarks, lost his train of thought, and appeared more subdued than in other recent public appearances.
Since World War II, only three incumbent presidents, all Democrats, have chosen not to run for a second term: Harry Truman, Lyndon Johnson, and now Joe Biden.
The debate reignited concerns among conservatives and critics about Biden’s mental acuity, while also triggering a push among Democrats to find a candidate they believed would be better suited to take on Trump.
Dozens of members of Congress began publicly thanking Biden for his service in the White House and his decades in public office, urging him to pass the torch to another candidate. Biden made his announcement just over a week after an assassination attempt on Trump during a rally in Pennsylvania and just days after the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where Trump was confirmed as the Republican nominee.
Following his announcement on Sunday afternoon, Biden endorsed Vice President Harris to run for the Democratic nomination. By Tuesday, Harris had secured enough delegates to lock up the nomination, which will be certified by the DNC next month.
Harris is now hitting the campaign trail and considering running mate options. Political pundits have mentioned potential contenders such as Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper.
Concerns about Biden’s health had been growing for years among conservatives and critics, including former White House physician Ronny Jackson. During the 2020 election cycle, Jackson, now a Republican congressman from Texas, expressed his concerns: “As a citizen, not as a candidate running for Congress but as a citizen of this country, I’ve watched Joe Biden on the campaign trail, and I am concerned and convinced that he does not have the mental capacity, the cognitive ability, to serve as our commander in chief and our head of state.”
In February this year, Special Counsel Robert Hur published his report on President Biden’s handling of classified documents after his vice presidency in the Obama administration. The report heightened concerns about Biden’s health. Hur stated that he would not recommend criminal charges against Biden for possessing classified materials, describing him as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.”
The Biden administration and former Biden campaign consistently dismissed claims that the president was suffering from diseases such as Parkinson’s or dementia, despite mounting concerns following the debate and Biden’s withdrawal. The White House also told Fox News Digital on Monday that Biden’s health did not influence his decision to exit the 2024 race.
Now that Biden has withdrawn from the election cycle, conservative lawmakers and others are calling for his resignation, arguing that if he is unfit to run for re-election, he is unfit to lead the nation for the remaining five months of his term.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., stated, “If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.”
House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., added, “If the Democrat party has deemed Joe Biden unfit to run for re-election, he’s certainly unfit to control our nuclear codes. Biden must step down from office immediately.”
Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, also called for Biden to resign hours before Biden officially announced his withdrawal. Vance tweeted on Sunday morning, “If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining President? Not running for reelection would be a clear admission that President Trump was right all along about Biden not being mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief. There is no middle ground.”
Others have called on Vice President Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment amid growing concerns about Biden’s health. Tennessee Rep. Andy Ogles sent a letter to Harris on Thursday, urging her to take this action. He exclusively told Fox News Digital that Biden left the race “because he isn’t up for the job of president, and everyone in America knows it.”
Ogles added, “I’ve said for over a year that Biden’s ever-declining health has rendered him incapable of leading the nation. With his recent reclusion following a supposed COVID diagnosis, it is now more apparent than ever that he must resign or be forced out. Since Biden has made it clear he will not resign, Vice President Harris must move forward with invoking the provisions of the 25th Amendment to remove him forcibly. The safety and well-being of the American people and our nation depend upon it.”
Biden’s address on Wednesday will be delivered from the Oval Office at 8 p.m. ET. He will discuss his withdrawal from the race and his plans for the remaining months in office.