- Biden addresses his nation as he exits the presidential race.
- Trump faces a younger presidential rival, Harris.
- Harris is expected to choose her running mate on August 7.
U.S. President Joe Biden addressed the nation on Wednesday for the first time since abandoning his re-election bid, saying he had decided to forgo personal ambition to save democracy in a calm Oval Office speech that contrasted with the eventful campaign.
Shortly before the speech, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump took a shot at his Democratic rival Kamala Harris at her first rally since she replaced Biden on the ticket, signaling a tough campaign ahead of the Nov. 5 election.
Trump called Harris a “radical left-wing lunatic” after she dominated the campaign trail over the previous two days with blistering attacks on him that pointedly raised his felony convictions, sexual abuse liability and fraud convictions against his company, his charitable foundation and his private university.
Biden said he believed he deserved to be re-elected based on his first-term record, but his love for his country led him to step aside.
“I decided the best way to move forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation,” Biden said.
Trump was less kind, saying in a post on his Truth Social platform that Biden's speech was “barely comprehensible and so bad!”
After spending much of the campaign attacking Biden as old and weak, Trump, 78, now faces a younger candidate, Harris, 59, the first Black woman and Asian American to serve as vice president.
Energizing many Democrats as potentially the first woman to win the White House, Harris quickly consolidated the party behind her as her campaign said it had raised $126 million since Sunday, with 64% of donors making their first contribution of the 2024 campaign.
With no rivals for the nomination, she won the backing of party delegates on Monday, a day after Biden's announcement.
The next highly anticipated development will be Harris's choice of a vice presidential candidate to counter Trump's selection of Ohio Sen. JD Vance.
Among those named are Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
The Democratic National Committee's rules committee agreed Wednesday to a plan to formally nominate Harris on Aug. 1, with Harris to choose a running mate by Aug. 7.
On Tuesday, Harris signaled her willingness to throw a punch, contrasting her experience as a prosecutor with her record as a convicted felon.
“Do we want to live in a country of freedom, compassion and the rule of law, or in a country of chaos, fear and hate?” he asked during a speech in Milwaukee.
TO Reuters/Ipsos A poll on Tuesday showed Harris with a two-percentage-point lead over Trump, 44% to 42%. A CNN poll conducted by SSRS showed Trump leading Harris, 49% to 46%. Both results were within the polls' margins of error.
