Speaking from the Oval Office on Wednesday days after bowing out of his bid for a second term, President Joe Biden told the American public that the best way to unite the nation was to “pass the torch to a new generation.”
“I revere this office,” Biden said. “But I love my country more.”
The primetime address – the president’s first remarks on-camera since he announced he was stepping out of the race in a sudden and stunning move on Sunday afternoon – was billed as Biden’s chance to explain his decision.
And on Wednesday, Biden, who has often painted his predecessor and the 2024 Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump, as a threat to democracy made clear that while he believed his accomplishments in office warranted a second term, his decision came down to putting American democracy first.
“Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” Biden said in the Oval Office, surrounded by aides and members of his family. “That includes personal ambition.”
“There's also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices,” Biden, who is 81 years old, continued. “That time and place is now.”
The president praised his vice president, Kamala Harris, whom he endorsed on Sunday, as ”tough,” “capable” and an “incredible partner.”
“Now the choice is up to you, the American people,” Biden said, later reminding the public that history, power and the idea of America “lies in your hands.”
“This sacred task of perfecting our union, It's not about me, it's about you, your families, your futures, it's about ‘We the People,’” the president said. “We can never forget that and I never have.”
“I've made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point – one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now determine our fate of our nation and the world for decades to come,” he continued. “America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward.”
The president also took the address as a chance to lay out what he sees as his biggest accomplishments over his three-and-a-half years in the White House, including record-low unemployment, strengthening our relationships with allies overseas, making progress on the racial wealth gap, lowering the cost of prescription drugs and more.
He made clear – despite calls from Republicans for him to resign – that he is determined to accomplish more in his last six months in the Oval Office, mentioning growing the economy, protecting the right to vote and the right to choose, keeping NATO strong and ending the war in Gaza.
He also said he would call for reforms to be implemented at the Supreme Court, a move that could resonate with his fellow Democrats.
“I ran for President four years ago because I believed and still do that the soul of America was at stake, the very nature of who you are was at stake,” he said. “That's still the case.”
He ended by noting the “privilege” it's been for him to serve America for more than 50 years (Biden was first elected to the U.S. Senate in 1972.)
“Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings to Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office as president United States, but here I am,” he said. “That’s what is so special about America, we are a nation of promise and possibilities, of dreamers and doers, of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things.”
Biden’s announcement to drop out of the race on Sunday put to bed weeks of division among Democrats over whether he was the best candidate to take on Trump in November in the wake of the president’s debate performance last month that sent a wave of panic through the party.
Within hours of Biden dropping out and endorsing his vice president, the Democratic Party swiftly coalesced around Harris, who has now secured enough support from delegates to be their 2024 nominee.
After Biden's speech on Wednesday, he stepped out of the Oval Office and into the Rose Garden to thank the hundreds of gathered White House staffers. In typical Biden fashion, ice cream was served.