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File image of Joe Biden. Alamy Stock Photo
return to the office
Biden to make White House return after covid infection ahead of Netanyahu meeting on Thursday
Kamala Harris will hold a separate meeting with Netanyahu.
US PRESIDENT JOE Biden will return to the White House later today after spending nearly a week at his personal residence recovering from Covid.
It also marks a first return to Washington since dropping his re-election bid on Sunday, according to his official schedule.
Biden is expected to leave his beach home in Delaware this afternoon and arrive at the White House at 2:30 pm (7.30 Irish time), according to the schedule.
The US president will also give a rare primetime speech from the Oval Office tomorrow after his decision to quit the 2024 White House race.
“Tomorrow evening at 8 PM ET (1am Thursday Irish time), I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people,” Biden said on X.
Tomorrow evening at 8 PM ET, I will address the nation from the Oval Office on what lies ahead, and how I will finish the job for the American people.
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 23, 2024
Biden is also expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday, the day after Netanyahu delivers a major speech to the US Congress.
The date of the White House meeting had been in the air as Biden recovered from Covid, with Israel initially reporting the leaders were due to speak today.
However, Kamala Harris will not attend Netanyahu’s address to the US Congress tomorrow due to a pre-planned rally, but an aide said this “should not be interpreted as a change in her position with regard to Israel.”
She will hold a separate meeting with Netanyahu as he visits Washington.
Harris hit the US campaign trail today after effectively clinching the Democratic presidential nomination, heading to the battleground state of Wisconsin to renew her attacks on Republican candidate Donald Trump.
The vice president took just 36 hours to secure enough delegates to be nominated, moving with lightning speed.
Hollywood star George Clooney – one of the first high-profile Democratic activists to urge Biden to drop his re-election bid – today joined a series of heavyweights in backing 59-year-old Harris to face Trump in November.
“President Biden has shown what true leadership is,” Clooney said in a statement to CNN. “We’re all so excited to do whatever we can to support Vice President Harris.”
Her campaign announced it had raised $100 million since her entry into the White House race, with 62% of donations coming from first time donors.
Biden stunned the world by dropping his re-election bid Sunday, bowing to weeks of pressure after a disastrous debate performance against Trump raised concerns about his age and mental acuity.
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