Days after announcing he would not seek reelection, the 46th president spoke of hoping to ‘unite our nation’ and outlined a set of goals for his remaining months in office.
President Joe Biden said the future of American democracy is in the hands of voters and that it’s time to “pass the torch to a new generation” in a solemn address to the country on Wednesday that marked the beginning of the end of his storied, half-century political career.
“I revere this office, but I love my country more. It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it is more important than any title,” Biden said in a short yet emotional speech delivered from the Oval Office on Wednesday.
“It’s about ‘We the People,’” he 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’s address to the nation marks the first time he’s publicly talked about his decision to bow out of the presidential election since he first announced the plan in a letter made public on Sunday – a decision set in motion after his disastrous performance in the first presidential debate last month. Though he tried to jettison the growing calls to step aside and assuage panicked Democrats that he was still fit for the job, he ultimately couldn’t overcome the pressure campaign, which by the end also included some of his oldest friends and most trusted advisers and allies.
Biden announced his decision over the weekend from his beach home in Delaware, where he’d been out of the public eye and recovering from COVID-19 for four days. “I draw strength, and I 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.”
For Biden, who promised Americans time and time again, “I will tell you the truth,” as he ascended to the White House while the country was still paralyzed by the pandemic, his remarks on Wednesday brought his presidency full circle – albeit not in the way he likely expected or hoped.
“When you elected me to this office, I promised to always level with you and tell you the truth, and the truth is that the sacred cause of this country is larger than any one of us,” he said. “In recent weeks it’s become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, and my vision for America’s future all merited a second term. But nothing – nothing – can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.”
“There’s a time and place for long years of experience in public life, but there’s also a time and place for new voices, fresh voices – yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”
Biden’s speech also sought to provide a roadmap for what lies ahead and how he’ll govern for the remaining months of his term – or as he put it, how he’ll “finish the job for the American people.”
“Over the next six months I will be focused on doing my job as president,” he said. “That means I will continue to lower costs for hard-working families and grow our economy. I will keep defending our freedoms and our civil rights – from the right to vote to the right to choose.”
He said that he would keep speaking out against gun violence, calling for Supreme Court reform, protecting NATO, preventing Russian President Vladimir Putin from overtaking Ukraine, and ending the war in Gaza.
Biden spoke only briefly about Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he endorsed as the Democratic nominee not long after he announced his exit from the race.
“She’s experienced, she’s tough, she’s capable,” Biden said of Harris. “She’s been an incredible partner to me.”
Harris has worked quickly since then to secure enough Democratic National Committee delegates to become the presumptive Democratic nominee and bring together the party’s establishment behind her bid. In doing so, she’s also managed to raise $126 million in the 72 hours since Biden stepped aside and endorsed her. In the same timespan, more than 40,000 new voters have registered – the vast majority of of whom are under the age of 34.
In her first campaign speech on Wednesday, Harris offered voters a vision for the future, focusing on the need for affordable health care, child care and paid family leave, while also stressing issues she’s long championed, including gun safety and reproductive rights.
Biden did not address calls from dozens of Republicans to resign or for his Cabinet officials to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. Those calls have been echoed by House Speaker Mike Johnson and Ohio Sen. JD Vance, former President Donald Trump’s newly anointed running mate.
“The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule,” Biden said, making a not-so-veiled reference to Trump’s vow that he will only be dictator for one day if reelected. “The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America – lies in your hands.”
Though he never mentioned Trump by name in his speech, he impressed upon viewers the choice they have on Election Day between preserving democracy or plunging the country into chaos.
“America is at an inflection point – one of those rare moments in history where the decisions we make now determine our fate, the fate of the nation and the world for decades to come,” he said. “America is going to have to choose between moving forward or moving backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy.”
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