President Joe Biden will address the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday about his decision to drop his 2024 Democratic reelection bid, the president announced.
"Tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. 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 said in the tweet.
The address will be the first from Biden since he announced in a statement Sunday that he would not seek reelection for a second term. It will also be Biden's first public appearance in nearly a week following a COVID diagnosis.
The speech, scheduled for 7 p.m. CT Wednesday, will be streamed in the video player above once it begins. It will also air live on NBC 5 and on the NBC Chicago streaming channel.
July 17, Biden announced he had tested positive for the virus and was receiving Paxlovid treatment. Since his diagnosis, Biden has been in isolation at his Rehoboth, Delaware, beach home. He was expected to return to the White House Tuesday afternoon, officials said.
During a speech at the White House Monday, Vice President Kamala Harris said Biden was continuing to recover.
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"Our president, Joe Biden, wanted to be here today. He is feeling much better and recovering fast, and he looks forward to getting back on the road," Harris told the crowd at an event celebrating NCAA champion athletes.
Tuesday afternoon, Biden's doctor released a letter saying the President's symptoms "have resolved."
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"Over the course of his infection, he never manifested a fever, and his vital signs remained normal, to include pulse oximetry," the letter read. "His lungs remained clear."
The letter went on to say that as of Tuesday, Biden's rapid COVID test was negative, and that he will continue to be monitored.
"The President continues to perform all of his presidential duties," the letter said.
Biden’s decision to bow out came after escalating pressure from his Democratic allies to step aside following the June 27 debate, in which the 81-year-old president trailed off, often gave nonsensical answers and failed to call out the former president’s many falsehoods.
In his first post-debate interview, Biden said he was convinced that he is the best person to take on Trump, adding that he could only be persuaded to step down "if the Lord Almighty comes out and tells me that."
But as his resolute posture failed to quell the unrest in his party, Biden suggested he could be moved to withdraw in other ways. Biden is already the country’s oldest president and had insisted repeatedly that he was up for the challenge of another campaign and another term.
Concerns over Biden’s age have dogged him since he announced he was running for reelection, though Trump is just three years younger at 78. Most Americans view the president as too old for a second term, according to an August 2023 poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. A majority also doubt his mental capability to be president, though that is also a weakness for Trump.
Biden often remarked that he was not as young as he used to be, doesn’t walk as easily or speak as smoothly, but that he had wisdom and decades of experience, which were worth a whole lot.
In a BET interview that aired Wednesday during the Republican National Convention, Biden said he might reconsider his decision to stay in the race "if I had some medical condition that emerged."
On the day that interview was set for broadcast, Biden tested positive for COVID. The president was last seen exiting Air Force One that Wednesday and heading in a motorcade toward his Delaware home.
Biden previously said he would address the nation later this week to provide “detail” about his decision.
In addition to his planned speech, Biden still intends to host Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House Thursday, officials said. Netanyahu is scheduled Wednesday to deliver an address to Congress and he is also expected to meet with Harris while in Washington.
