Washington, 25 July 2024 (dpa/MIA) - The "defence of democracy" is more important than any title, US President Joe Biden said in his first address since bowing out of the race to win another term.

Biden delivered a speech from the White House on Wednesday, his first since his announcement via social media on Sunday that he had ended his bid for a second term and was handing the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris.

"I draw strength, and find joy, in working for the American people. But this sacred task of perfecting our Union is not about me. It's about you. Your families. Your futures," Biden said.

"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."

Biden said there was a time and a place for years of experience in public life.

"There's also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices, and that time and place is now," he said.

"It's been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years."

Biden said he would be "focused" on his job as president for the remainder of his term, which ends on January 20, 2025.

"I will keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights – from the right to vote – to the right to choose."

Biden had kept a low profile since last week, when he came down with a Covid-19 infection and went into isolation at his private residence.

He called into his campaign headquarters on Monday to urge staffers and volunteers to give "every bit of your heart and soul" to Harris.

The president's stunning decision threw the contest into chaos, but also offered Biden's Democrats a chance to change the narrative in the fight against Republican nominee Donald Trump, who is seeking to return to the White House after leaving it in 2021.

This year's race for the presidency has been like none other.

In May, Trump became the first current or former president to be criminally indicted, in a case involving the falsification of business records to illegally influence the 2016 election through hush money payments to a porn star who said the two had sex.

In June, Biden's train-wreck debate performance against Trump sent Democrats into a panic over his viability as a candidate, even though voter surveys had been signalling to the party for months that the public had major concerns about 81-year-old Biden's fitness for office.

Trump, 78, survived an assassination attempt as he held a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on July 13. He narrowly avoided being hit by a bullet, but the attack injured an ear and left his face streaked with blood as he was hauled off the stage.

On Sunday, with poll numbers falling, major party donors fleeing and high-profile Democrats demanding his exit, Biden succumbed to weeks of pressure and withdrew from the race. He immediately endorsed Harris as his replacement.

Harris, who would be the first female president in US history if elected, is already holding rallies, and her campaign team said that it has raised over $100 million since Sunday afternoon.

Photo: EPA