Trump slams Biden's 'terrible' Oval Office address on abrupt exit from 2024 race: 'It was a coup'

Former President Donald Trump slammed President Biden's Oval Office address on his exit from the 2024 presidential race, calling it a "terrible" speech while accusing Democrats of staging a coup against the president.

Trump reacted to Biden's remarks during "Fox & Friends" Thursday, arguing he left more questions than answers Wednesday night on the abrupt end of his presidential campaign.

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"I think it was a coup. They didn't want him running. He was way down in the polls, and they thought he was going to lose," Trump said. "They went to him and they said, you can't win the race, which I think is true, unless I did something very foolish, which I wasn't going to do, and I think he was so far down and they said, 'You're not going to win and you're not in great shape, and you did poorly in the debate.' I think the debate started everything."

"I know a lot of people on the other side, too, that they went, and they forced him out between Pelosi and Obama and some others that you see on television. It was interesting," he continued. "I'd watch them on television and they act so nice. ‘Oh, yes, we loved you. We loved you behind the scenes.’ I know for a fact they were brutal."

Biden addressed the nation for the first time on Wednesday since bowing out of the 2024 election on Sunday, saying he is passing the torch to "a new generation" while again throwing his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris in her campaign to secure the Democratic Party's nomination. 

"I decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It's the best way to unite our nation. You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life. There's also a time and place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now," Biden said.

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The speech lasted roughly 11 minutes, with the president sitting at the Resolute desk in the Oval Office while touting his years in political office and decision to bow out. Members of the president's family were in attendance for the speech, including first lady Jill Biden, daughter Ashley Biden, son Hunter Biden and others. 

"It was like a terrible speech and terrible delivery," Trump said. "He looked like he was having problems, and yet you watch the other networks and you would think he was Ronald Reagan in his prime, Winston Churchill in his prime, and he wasn't. It was not good… It was not a good speech."

"It's so phony what's going on," he continued. "The press is so – it's so fake. Anybody can see it was a problem."

Biden announced his exit from the presidential race in an X post while self-isolating in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, after a COVID-19 diagnosis last Wednesday. After suffering "mild symptoms" and "general malaise" after his diagnosis, he received a negative diagnosis on Tuesday this week and returned to the White House.

His trip to the nation's capital on Tuesday marked the first time Biden was seen in public since suspending his re-election bid and the first time since being diagnosed with COVID-19 on July 17. 

"I knew there was a palace coup going on, and I assumed that she'd be probably getting it," Trump said of Harris. "She had the advantage."

Fox News' Emma Colton contributed to this report. 

Bailee Hill is an associate editor with Fox News Digital. Story ideas can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.