Biden elaborates on decision to withdraw from presidential contest

With fewer than four months until the election, U.S. President Joe Biden spoke to the country on Wednesday night from the Oval Office of the White House to explain his decision to drop out of the race.

Believing his "record as president" was deserving of a second term, Biden said in an 11-minute prime-time speech that "But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition."

Biden's speech came three days after he announced on social media that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. Concerns about his age and mental fitness surged following his disastrous debate performance on June 27, prompting over 30 Democratic lawmakers to publicly urge him to step aside.

"So I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It's the best way to unite our nation," said the 81-year-old.

Noting that America is at "an inflection point," the president said the decisions Americans make now determine the fate of the nation and the world for decades to come.

After announcing his withdrawal, Biden offered his full support for nominating Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic presidential candidate and urged Democrats to unite to defeat the Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump.

Harris quickly gained the endorsements of numerous Democratic party leaders. She said late Monday that she had secured enough support from Democratic delegates to become the party's nominee for the presidential election in November.

Trump, who held a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday -- his first public rally since Biden's exit from the race -- took to social media to attack Biden.

"Crooked Joe Biden's Oval Office speech was barely understandable, and sooo bad!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social. In another post, he called Biden and Harris "a great embarrassment to America."

At her first presidential campaign event on Tuesday in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Harris harshly criticized Trump and sought to frame the November general election as a choice between a former prosecutor and a convicted felon.

At the moment, Harris's approval ratings are not very high, and in surveys versus Trump, she does not substantially outperform Biden. In the most recent national surveys, Trump leads Harris by an average of 1.7 percentage points, according to statistics provided by Real Clear Politics.