Washington, D.C. – U.S. President Joe Biden is set to deliver what may be his final Oval Office speech on Wednesday, addressing the nation to explain his decision to withdraw from the upcoming November election and to dismiss claims that he will be a lame duck president for the remaining months of his term.
With the political spotlight now on the impending contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump, Biden will emphasize that his work is not yet complete, despite his unprecedented decision to step aside.
In a message posted on X, the 81-year-old Democrat announced that he would discuss “what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people” during the primetime televised address at 8:00 pm (0000 GMT Thursday).
The address, expected to last between eight to ten minutes, marks Biden’s first public remarks since his withdrawal from the race on Sunday. His decision followed weeks of mounting pressure after a challenging debate performance against Trump. Biden had previously promised, during his withdrawal announcement while isolating with COVID-19 at his Delaware beach home, to provide Americans with more details on his decision.
This speech comes just over a week after his last Oval Office address, following an assassination attempt on Trump on July 13. It is only the fourth Oval Office address of Biden’s presidency and could potentially be his last.
With Harris, who has effectively secured the Democratic presidential nomination, and Trump both resuming their campaign activities, Biden faces the challenge of demonstrating his continued relevance and effectiveness. Republicans have called for Biden to step down entirely, arguing that if he is not fit for reelection, he should not continue serving as president.
Biden maintains that he still has significant contributions to make, particularly regarding the economy and achieving a ceasefire in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. He is scheduled to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House on Thursday and has indicated that they are close to reaching a ceasefire agreement.
He would not be the first U.S. president to pursue a legacy-defining Middle East peace deal, following the efforts of predecessors such as Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, and Donald Trump. However, in a sign of rapidly shifting dynamics, Netanyahu will also meet with Harris on Thursday, as she skips his address to Congress due to a pre-scheduled campaign trip.
Trump, meanwhile, has announced on Truth Social that he will meet with Netanyahu on Friday at the Republican’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida.
As the end of his presidency approaches, Biden expressed on X late Tuesday that it was “great to be back at the White House” after his return from Delaware and mentioned a briefing with his national security team.
Biden’s decision to exit the race has reinvigorated the Democratic Party, which had been embroiled in debates over his age. An enthusiastic Harris was met with cheers on Tuesday at a campaign rally in Wisconsin, her first since securing the delegates necessary for the nomination. She could be formally nominated in early August through a virtual vote by Democratic delegates, ahead of the party’s convention in Chicago later that month.
Harris now faces the challenge of maintaining this momentum and translating it into electoral success in November. Trump is scheduled to appear in Charlotte on Wednesday for his first rally since Harris became the presumptive nominee, where he is expected to intensify his critiques of her. Recent national polls show Harris with a slight lead over Trump.
In the wake of Biden’s withdrawal, the impact on voter engagement is becoming clearer. Non-profit voter registration group Vote.org reported nearly 40,000 new voter registrations within 48 hours of Biden’s announcement, marking a nearly 700 percent daily increase. “That’s the largest number of new voters registered over a 48-hour period we’ve seen this entire cycle,” stated Vote.org CEO Andrea Hailey on X.
