Biden says it is time to 'pass torch' to next generation in Oval Office speech

'The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule. The people do,' US President says

President Joe Biden's decision to drop out of the race for the White House was meant to unify the nation under a new generation of leaders, he said on Wednesday night in his first public address since he ended his re-election campaign at the weekend.

“I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That is the best way to unite our nation,” Mr Biden said in the Oval Office address.

The President also explained his decision to serve the remaining six months of his term, despite calls from some Republicans to resign.

“Over the next six months, I will be focused on doing my job as president,” Mr Biden said.

“The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands.”

Mr Biden's decision to withdraw from the presidential race came on Sunday after weeks of mounting pressure from inside his own Democratic Party to step aside, following a disastrous debate against his Republican challenger Donald Trump.

Calls to step aside grew amid questions about his mental acuity. The White House has denied that Mr Biden has any cognitive issues despite a recent increase in verbal slip-ups – a few of which occurred during his Oval Office address.

He is the first incumbent president not to seek re-election since 1968 when Lyndon Johnson, under fire for his handling of the Vietnam War, abruptly pulled out of the campaign on March 31.

Mr Biden also joins James Polk, James Buchanan, Rutherford B Hayes, Calvin Coolidge and Harry Truman as presidents who all decided not to stand for a second elected term.

The delay in addressing the American people on the issue was due, in part, to a Covid infection that forced him off the campaign trail.

Mr Biden now faces the remaining half-year of his presidency no longer running an election he seemed to have little chance of winning but condemned to lame-duck status.

“I will continue to lower costs for hard-working families and grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights – from the right to vote to the right to choose,” he said.

Mr Biden said he would also "keep calling out hate and extremism, make it clear there is no place in America for political violence or any violence, ever, period".

He said “the defence of democracy is more important than any title”, referring to how the central theme of his re-election campaign was how Mr Trump was a threat to America's democratic institutions and US allies.

The President's speech came on the same day Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed the US Congress. Mr Biden has faced growing domestic criticism over his handling of the Israel-Gaza war.

"I'm going to keep working to end the war in Gaza, bring home all the hostages and bring peace and security to the Middle East," he said.

Mr Biden is due to meet Mr Netanyahu on Thursday.

“I draw strength and find joy in working for the American people,” Mr Biden said.

“But this sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me. It’s about you. Your families. Your futures. It’s about ‘We the People'.”

Agencies contributed to this report