![Biden to explain decision to drop out of re-election bid in Oval Office address](/static9/politics/2024/07/24/biden-to-explain-decision-to-drop-out-of-re-election-bid-in-oval-office-address.webp)
It's a presidential address unlike any other in decades.
On Wednesday night, President Joe Biden will explain from the Oval Office why he decided to back out of his campaign for re-election.
Biden, 81, could not overcome his poor performance at last month's debate against Republican and Former President Donald Trump.
After weeks of mounting pressure to step aside, Biden acquiesced and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to lead Democrats in November.
A top Biden aide has reportedly told allies the president wants to leave office on a high note, adding he will turn even more attention to getting a peace deal in the Middle East.
Harris, meanwhile, previewed Biden's address while making a stop in Indiana.
"He will talk about not only the work - the extraordinary work - that he's accomplished, but about his work in the next six months," Harris said.
Harris, a member of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, addressed the Zeta Phi Beta sorority. She hopes to boost turnout among Black women when the elections rolls around in November.
"In this moment, I believe we face a choice between two different visions for our nation: One focused on the future, the other focused on the past," Harris said. "These extremists want to take us back, but we are not going back. We are not going back."
The vice president is currently on track to become the Democratic candidate for president. On Wednesday, party leaders met to finalize a plan to hold a virtual roll call choosing a nominee weeks before next month's Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
"The DNC determined that a virtual roll call is the safest way to ensure that our Democratic candidates will be certain to appear on the ballot in all 50 states," said Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis (D-CA).
Republicans, meanwhile, have stepped up criticism on early Biden administration confusion about Harris' role in handling immigration. More of this is expected at Trump's campaign rally in North Carolina Wednesday evening, the former president's first public appearance since surviving an assassination attempt in Pennsylvania.