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- You can read more about Joe Biden's speech here

- You can read more about Kamala Harris's campaign here

- You can read more about the investigation into Donald Trump's attempted assassination here

This page was edited by Gareth Evans, Christal Hayes, Laura Blasey and Caitlin Wilson.

Our writers have been Bernd Debusmann, Jr, Max Matza and Hannah Ritchie.

Image source, Rex/Shutterstock

If you’re just joining us, here’s a recap of the main points from President Joe Biden’s Oval Office address on his decision to withdraw his re-election bid.

• In the prime-time speech, Biden said his record warranted a second term, but that it was time to “pass the torch” to a new generation of “fresh voices, yes, younger voices” - touching on the issue of his age, which has remained a concern among voters
• He framed the election in November as a historic inflection point for America, and said that “nothing” was more important than “the defence of democracy”, including “personal ambition”
• He called Vice-President Kamala Harris - who he has endorsed as the Democratic nominee - “experienced, tough” and “capable”
• The speech, which ran for 11 minutes in total, was the president’s first on-camera comments since leaving the presidential race and his fourth-ever Oval Office address
• Most of it focused on what he saw as his administration's main achievements, including policies on healthcare, climate change, and the economy
• At several points, Biden invoked the promise of the American dream, using his own example as “a kid with a stutter” from Scranton, Pennsylvania rising to become president as proof that equal opportunities exist
• Although Biden still has six months left in office, the speech also sounded at times like an early farewell: “It has been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years,’’ he told the American people

Christal Hayes
US reporter

Democratic lawmakers praised Biden after his address, many acknowledging his message about America being great without kings or dictators.

"A great speech from a great man," wrote Representative Jerry Nadler, a Democrat from New York.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat from California, also doled out significant praise for the president.

"Tonight, we saw President Joe Biden – one of America’s most consequential presidents – show that he is not only on the right side of history, but on the right side of the future."

Representative Judy Chu, a Democrat from California, called the speech "a beautiful tribute to the nation we all love by a historically accomplished statesman".

The American president has had a rough time these past few weeks, beginning after a widely criticised debate against Trump on 27 June.

Millions of Americans came away from the debate concerned about Biden's health and age after he stumbled over his answers. , external

The next day he said he would continue his campaign, as criticism began to flow in.

He then went on to make several highly scrutinised gaffes while hosting Nato leaders in Washington.

He confused the names of the leaders of Ukraine and Russia and at one point referred to "Vice-President Trump".

On 17 July, he tested positive for Covid while on an aggressive campaign tour schedule. He returned home to self-isolate in Delaware and Democrats began to openly call for him to drop out.

Dozens of members of Congress, including multiple senators, began speaking out against his decision to stay in the race, and donors started to flee.

Then on Sunday afternoon, Biden released a bombshell letter saying he was ending his campaign. In a second message on Sunday, he endorsed Kamala Harris for president.

Christal Hayes
US reporter

Republican lawmakers went on the attack after the president's address, calling his calls to preserve democracy fictitious.

"Having your mega-donors pick your ticket in a secret backroom deal is not 'saving democracy.' That is an oligarchy," Representative Mary Miller, a Repubican from Illinois, wrote on X.

Other Republican lawmakers said the address didn't do much to appease concerns over Biden remaining the president for the rest of his term, which ends in January.

"Biden left the American people tonight with more questions than answers," Representative Scott DesJarlais, from Tennessee, wrote on X. "His abrupt exit from the race is either because his party convinced him he couldn’t win or his health and cognition is such that he should no longer be president - and I don’t think they’re mutually exclusive."

Other Republicans, including prominent South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, took aim at Biden's successor in the race: Kamala Harris.

Graham said while he respected Biden's decision and wished both him and his family well, America is on the wrong track and Harris, he argued, will only worsen things.

"Americans are struggling, and our country is heading in the wrong direction," he wrote on X. "Furthermore, replacing President Biden with Vice-President Kamala Harris will only worsen the problems we face, including an open border, weakness abroad and crushing inflation at home."

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

In a press briefing here at the White House a few hours ago, Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back on suggestions that Biden should resign before January, calling any argument he is not fit for office "ridiculous".

Some Republicans have called for Biden to step down as president, arguing that he cannot run the country if he cannot run for office.

Jean-Pierre said that Biden would be “absolutely” capable of finishing his term. She also denied that there was any "cover-up" over Biden's cognitive agility.

His decision to withdraw, Jean-Pierre added, was "not about his health", although she declined to give further details.

She added that Biden has "no regrets" and was "proud" of his decision, which showed "how honourable this president is".

The press secretary declined to give specific details on policy objectives that Biden might have in the coming months.

"We’ll have a lot more to share," she said. "Stay tuned, and watch."

Image source, Getty Images

Meanwhile, in Indianapolis, Vice-President Kamala Harris hit the campaign trail earlier Wednesday, delivering a speech at a sorority event.

She begins by paying tribute to Joe Biden, marking his "extraordinary determination and profound passion for the people of our country".

Then, addressing directly the women gathered, she says "we share a vision for the future of our nation", "of social justice, health justice and economic justice" in which "we realise the promise of America".

"In this moment, we face a choice between two different visions for our nation: one focused on the future, the other focused on the past," Harris adds.

"I am fighting for our nation's future."

Harris watched Biden's speech Wednesday evening from Houston, Texas, a White House official said, as she was visiting the city after it was recently hit by Hurricane Beryl.

Image source, Reuters

Former President Donald Trump watched Joe Biden deliver his Oval Office speech while travelling on his plane back from a campaign rally in North Carolina, according to reporters travelling with him.

"As you know three days ago we defeated the worst president in the history of our country," Trump told supporters at that rally, cheering Biden's departure from the race.

Meanwhile, a lawyer for the Trump campaign has complained about "equal air time".

Chris LaCivita posted on X that all the major US news networks can expect to receive letters from the campaign's lawyers, implying that they plan to sue.

Biden is the president and is not a candidate in the election, meaning coverage of him would not trigger the Federal Communication Commission's guidance on giving candidates equal attention.

First Lady Jill Biden posted a picture of a hand-written note to X, external, formerly known as Twitter, where she thanked supporters of her and husband Joe Biden.

She thanks those who "never wavered", "refused to doubt" and "always believed".

"Thank you for the trust you put in Joe - now it's time to put that trust in Kamala," she writes in the note, encouraging the president's supporters to back the vice-president.

Throughout his address, Biden spoke in quiet, hushed tones about the future of the United States and his goals for the remainder of his four-year term.

Occasionally slurring certain words, as he has been known to do in recent years, Biden's voice sounded slightly strained at times.

Biden was diagnosed with Covid seven days ago, and tested negative only yesterday, according to a letter from his doctor released by the White House.

Before officially announcing his decision to drop out of the race Sunday, Biden had spent several days away from the campaign trail recuperating at his Delaware beach house.

Image source, EPA

Several family members were seated alongside a wall in the Oval Office as Biden spoke during his 11-minute speech.

They were out of frame for most Americans watching at home, but reporters that travel with the president and distribute pool reports spotted them as the speech began.

They included his son Hunter, his daughter Ashley, his wife Jill Biden and granddaughter Finnegan.

Several long-time aides to Biden, and spouses of his family members were also in attendance.

Near the end of his speech, Ashley was seen reaching for the hand of her mother, Jill.

Image source, EPA

Image source, EPA

Bernd Debusmann Jr
Reporting from the White House

Image source, EPA

Here in the press area of the White House, it went completely quiet as Biden was speaking. Everyone had headphones on - if it weren't for the sounds of laptop keys banging away, you could have heard a pin drop.

After the president stopped speaking, a few reporters whispered thoughts to each other.

While we had an idea of what he would say, on a personal level it seemed to have struck a chord with some - at least one reporter I saw in the stairwell had shed a tear.

Other journalists from more conservative news outlets audibly scoffed at certain points.

The second his remarks concluded, on-air reporters quickly ran to the so-called Pebble Beach area outside, which is now brightly lit up with large lights as the sun goes down.

Others - including Italian- and Portuguese-language broadcasters - set up impromptu filming locations in the Briefing Room, with the White House seal clearly visible behind them.

How White House staff received his remarks is, for now, largely unclear.

We now know that the dozens of staffers we saw outside earlier streamed over to the White House, where they'd organised a watch party for the speech.

Cold, hard reality: Reading between the lines of Biden's addresspublished at 01:32 British Summer Time 25 July

01:32 BST 25 July

Anthony Zurcher
BBC North America correspondent

Joe Biden, in his Oval Office address, said he promised that he would always level with the American people.

But he didn’t quite do that. While he said it was time to pass the torch to a new generation and that he needed to place party unity and American democracy ahead of personal ambition, he didn’t delve deeply into why he made that decision so recently - just three months before the presidential election.

Reading between those lines exposes the cold, hard reality that he resigned because it was becoming increasingly clear that he was going to lose. Trailing in the polls, embarrassed by a miserable debate performance and with a growing chorus in the Democratic party calling for him to step aside, there was no clear path to victory.

His speech won’t silence the Republican critics who have claimed that if he isn’t fit to run for re-election, then he isn’t fit to continue to serve in office. He also provided minimal praise for his vice-president, Kamala Harris, whom he called “experienced, tough, capable” and an “incredible partner”.

He said now it is up to the American people to determine the future of the country. Also left unsaid is that it will be up to Harris to make her own case for election.

Biden's reference to his endorsement for Vice-President Kamala Harris came quickly, and towards the end of his speech.

"I want to thank our great vice-president, Kamala Harris," he said.

"She's experienced. She's tough. She's capable. She's been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country."

Harris has been aggressively hitting the campaign trail since Biden's announcement on Sunday. It remains to be seen how hard the president will campaign to help his vice-president defeat Trump.

"Here, kings do not rule. The people do," Biden says.

"History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The power of America lies in your hands."

Referencing the election in November, he says, "Let's act together to preserve our democracy".

He thanks the American public and concludes his speech.

Image source, EPA

Biden now says that serving as President and as a lawmaker has been "the privilege of my life".

"Nowhere else on earth could a kid from a stutter... one day sit behind the Resolute Desk," he says. "But here I am."

Biden concludes by saying that the US is a "nation of promise and possibilities, of dreamers and doers, of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things."

"I give my heart and my soul to my nation," he says. "I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you."

"I ran for president four years ago because I believe, and still do, that the soul of America was at stake," Biden continues.

He says: "That's still the case."

"America is an idea, an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant. The most powerful idea in the history of the world."

He goes on to quote from the Declaration of Independence.

Looking back on his presidency, Biden says that the US has "come so far" since his inauguration in January 2021, which he called a "winter of peril" and possibilities.

"We were in the grip of the worst pandemic of the century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, and the worst attack on our democracy since the civil war," he says.

"But we came together as Americans," he adds. "We got through it."

Biden says that the US become stronger and more prosperous, with a strong economy.

"We're literally rebuilding our entire nation," he says.