Politics
Biden will address nation from Oval Office on decision to exit 2024 race
President Biden will address the nation on Wednesday after his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential election.
Biden will speak to the American people about why he decided to exit the race and what he plans to focus on for the remaining six months of his first term. His address will be delivered from the Oval Office, the White House said.
The president is expected to be seen in public for the first time in six days on Tuesday as he returns to the nation’s capital from his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.
Biden has not appeared publicly since reportedly testing positive for COVID-19 last week. His only public remarks on his stunning decision to withdraw from the 2024 presidential election came Monday during a brief phone call into the campaign headquarters of Vice Presidential Kamala Harris, who is now the presumptive Democratic nominee.
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President Joe Biden walks down the steps of Air Force One at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware on Wednesday, July 17, 2024. This was the last time Biden was seen before his COVID isolation. (Susan Walsh/AP)
According to the president’s public schedule, Biden will depart from Delaware at 12:30 p.m. He will then fly from Dover Air Force Base to Joint Base Andrews to return to the White House at around 2:30 p.m. The president will receive his daily briefing at 3 p.m. There are no public events on his schedule.
In a letter released on X Sunday, Biden said he believes it is in the “best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
“I will speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision,” he added, though he gave no details on the time, place or manner in which he would speak.
Last week, Biden began to self-isolate after reportedly testing positive for COVID-19. He was last seen publicly deplaning in Delaware on July 17.
In a letter updating the status of 81-year-old Biden’s medical condition on Friday, the physician to the president, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, wrote that Biden “completed his sixth dose of PAXLOVID this morning.”
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Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during an event with NCAA college athletes on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington on Monday, July 22, 2024. This is Harris’ first appearance since Biden endorsed her to be the next Democratic nominee for president. (Demetrius Freeman/Getty Images)
Biden “is still experiencing a loose, non-productive cough and hoarseness, but his symptoms continue to improve steadily,” O’Connor wrote in the letter released by the White House.
“His pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate and temperature remain absolutely normal,” the doctor said. “His oxygen saturation continues to be excellent on room air. His lungs remain clear.”
The doctor said Biden has the KP .2.3 variant, which accounts for approximately 33.3% of new infections in the United States, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
“The President continues to tolerate treatment well and will continue PAXLOVID as planned,” the letter says. “He continues to perform all his presidential duties.”
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet with Biden on Thursday at the White House. (Fox News/Getty Images)
Biden will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday at the White House, according to a U.S. official. Netanyahu arrived in the U.S. a little more than 24 hours after Biden announced that he would no longer seek re-election.
On Wednesday, Netanyahu will give a speech in front of Congress, though Harris reportedly declined to preside over the address, according to the Washington Post. Before departing Israel for D.C., Netanyahu told reporters that his country would stand by the U.S. “regardless [of] who the American people choose as their next president.”
“In this time of war and uncertainty, it’s important that Israel’s enemies know that America and Israel stand together,” the leader said.
Netanyahu also requested a meeting with former President Trump this week, according to Politico. It is unclear if Trump agreed to the meeting.
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Andrea Vacchiano contributed to this report.