PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN said he believes it’s best to focus on the future of the United States in the final few months of his term, in his first address after dropping out of the US election last week.

Last night, Biden gave an address in the Oval Office in Washington and said that, while he finds pride in the fact that he has served his country as President, he believes the “defence of democracy is more important than any title”.

“This sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me, it’s about you,” the President said. “Your families, your futures, it’s about We the People,” he added, quoting the country’s constitution.

Biden added that the country is at an “inflection point”, where whatever choice the American people make will determine the future of the country and the rest of the world for “decades to come”.

The President told viewers that they have a choice to make, to either move “forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division”.

“We have to decide that we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy. In this moment we can see those we disagree with not as enemies, but as fellow Americans. Can we do that?”

Biden’s campaign spiralled into disarray after the first televised debate against Republican Party nominee Donald Trump led the Democratic party to revolt internally, claiming the incumbent could not compete due to his age and grew concerns over his health and ability.

Though Biden and his campaign team brushed away those claims, the President on Sunday night announced that he would be stepping away, in a shock decision that even some of his staff were not briefed about.

Speaking in a hushed voice after a Covid infection, Biden used the powerfully symbolic setting to insist on his achievements – while admitting it was time to move on.

“In recent weeks it’s become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor,” Biden said in his address. “I believe, I reckon as President, my leadership in the World, my vision for America’s future, all merited a second term.

“But nothing, nothing could come in the way of saving our democracy. And that include personal ambition. So I decided that the best way forward was to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation.”

Biden said that he wanted to finish his Presidency strong by protecting employment, personal freedoms, civil rights and growing the economy. 

In a poignant sign of support for Biden after the toughest decision of his political life, most of his family sat watching him in the Oval Office as he spoke.

They included his wife Jill and daughter Ashley – who held hands near the end of his remarks – Biden’s troubled son Hunter and a number of Biden’s grandchildren.

Jill Biden later posted a letter on X, formerly, Twitter thanking “those who never wavered” – an apparent backhanded dig at the Democrats who called on Biden to quit.