Donald Trump took to his social media platform Truth Social immediately after President Joe Biden’s address from the Oval Office Wednesday night, during which he explained why he was withdrawing from the presidential race and touted his list of accomplishments while in the White House.
“Crooked Joe Biden’s Oval Office speech was barely understandable, and sooo bad!” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Biden had spent the past few days recovering after testing positive for COVID last week. Wednesday’s speech was the first since Biden’s abrupt decision to step down from the ticket, which he announced Sunday afternoon.
Trump followed the post up with an all-caps message: “CROOKED JOE BIDEN AND LYIN’ KAMALA HARRIS ARE A GREAT EMBARRASSMENT TO AMERICA — THERE HAS NEVER BEEN A TIME LIKE THIS!”
Trump watched the speech live on his private jet after a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina—the first major speech he gave after Biden’s withdrawal, and the first since Vice President Kamala Harris had become the presumptive nominee for the Democrats.
After party leadership and delegates quickly pledged their support to Harris over the course of the last four days, Trump complained during his speech that her rapid ascent was “un-democratic,” claiming that “the [Democratic Party] bosses, they said ‘either you get out or we’re going to throw you out using the 25th Amendment.’ That’s what happened.”
In the highly anticipated Oval Office address on Wednesday evening, Biden said he decided to drop out of the race to “pass the torch to a new generation” after questions about his age and mental fitness for office dogged his campaign.
Instead of focusing on those lingering questions, Biden used the bully pulpit to endorse Harris. “She is experienced. She is tough. She is capable. She has been an incredible partner for me and a leader for our country,” the president said from behind the Resolute Desk.
“The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands.”
