Tonight, Swedish time, US President Joe Biden breaks his silence about his decision not to run for re-election.
It has been three days since 81-year-old Joe Biden, in an open letter published on the X platform, dropped the bombshell that he is quitting the presidential campaign. And at 2 am tonight, Swedish time, he will give a speech to the nation from the Oval Office in the White House.
The Democrat is expected to explain more about what lies behind his withdrawal and what he wants to do with his remaining time in office, according to American media.
During a campaign meeting held by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is likely to take over as the party's presidential candidate, Biden participated via link. There, he made it clear that he intends to stay for the entire term, despite speculation that he might leave the post prematurely:
I'm not going anywhere, said Biden, and emphasized that he wants to try to end the war in Gaza during his last six months in the White House.
Several American media outlets, including the news channel PBS, interpret Biden's statement as wanting to achieve as much as possible during his remaining time in power and that he is thinking about his political legacy.
Since the decision to withdraw, Biden has been called a "lame duck" – the domestic term for someone who has their title but lacks real power, which many politicians fear.
The withdrawal came after criticism from his own camp in the wake of Biden's disastrous performance in a debate against Republican Donald Trump at the end of June. Biden gave a confused and weak impression during the debate, which led heavy Democrats to urge him to quit.
Joe Biden, born in 1942 in the mining town of Scranton, Pennsylvania, is the 46th President of the United States.
He was Barack Obama's vice president between 2009 and 2017. Before that, he was Delaware's senator for 36 years.
Biden is known as a cross-party centrist politician. Ahead of the 2020 presidential election, he highlighted his experience, his broad foreign policy knowledge, and his working-class background.
He is married to Jill Biden and has two living children. Biden's gripping family history is well-known in the USA. His first wife died in a car accident in 1972, along with their one-year-old daughter. Biden, who had been elected senator just a month earlier, became a single father to sons Beau and Hunter – who were also injured in the accident. Beau Biden died of brain cancer in 2015. Together with Jill Biden, he has daughter Ashley Biden.
Joe Biden became the oldest incoming president in US history when he won the election against Donald Trump in 2020.
