US President Joe Biden was seen in public for the first time since dropping out of the presidential race and testing positive for Covid-19. His absence fuelled rumours on social media, with many users claiming that the 81-year-old leader’s health is deteriorating, even claiming he is in “hospice care” and is “unlikely to survive the night”.
“Where’s Joe” became the top trend on X globally after the US President was out of the public eye for five days as he quarantined at his Delaware home to recover from Covid-19.
The Democratic leader returned to the White House on Wednesday after his doctors said his COVID-19 symptoms had resolved and a rapid antigen test showed he was negative for COVID-19. “I feel good,” he said.
UPDATE: President Biden has just boarded Air Force One and is headed back to the White House. pic.twitter.com/k2wNDleGa3
— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) July 23, 2024
The US President boarded a plane headed for the White House while reporters peppered him with questions about how he was feeling, why he withdrew from the race and whether his Vice President-elect Kamala Harris could defeat Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Biden did not answer questions and just gave a quick thumbs up. “It’s great to be back in the White House. This afternoon, I returned to the Oval Office and sat down with my national security team for our daily intelligence briefing. Serving as your Commander-in-Chief has been the greatest honor of my life,” he wrote on X.
While in quarantine, the US President suddenly announced his withdrawal from his re-election campaign, despite months of his stance that he would not withdraw from the presidential race despite growing pressure from his party to step down.
On social media, he announced that he would not accept the Democratic nomination and would instead “focus all of my energy on my duties as president for the remainder of my term”. He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic candidate to take on rival Donald Trump in the election later this year.
The leader also announced that he would address the nation on Friday morning, possibly to explain his decision to withdraw from the presidential race.
“Tomorrow at 8pm ET, I will be addressing the nation from the Oval Office about what’s coming next, and how I’ll get the job done for the American people,” he said in a post on X.