Washington: Joe Biden framed his momentous decision to drop out of the 2024 race as a bid to unify the nation under a new generation of leaders, in his first speech since ending his reelection campaign and political career.
Biden sought to define his legacy on Wednesday with an 11-minute Oval Office address - one that he has staked on defending US institutions from Republican Donald Trump. He cast his exit from the race, made under intense pressure from fellow Democrats, as an act of self-sacrifice because "nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy."
I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation.
Biden acknowledged the difficulty of his choice, saying he revered the office. But ultimately, the president said, he believed he needed to bring together his party and put aside "personal ambition."
'Kings and dictators do not rule'
Addressing voters casting ballots in the fall, Biden said, "the great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands."
Biden went on to recognize, "there's a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes - younger voices."
It was a tacit admission of how a calamitous debate performance had devastated confidence in the president's ability to serve four more years in the job, effectively ending a five-decades long political career.
The stunning decision - along with Biden's endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris, who is poised to clinch the nomination - capped a frenzied month that saw the race reshaped by the debate, its fallout, the attempted assassination of Trump and brewing doubts among Democrats over whether they needed a new candidate.
The night was something of a capstone to his presidency. Staff from across his administration poured into the executive residence to watch the speech, some weeping as he spoke and cheering when he finished. Biden met them in the Rose Garden after concluding his remarks, urging them to rally around Harris' candidacy.
Biden insisted he still hoped to accomplish significant goals during his remaining six months in office. Biden said he would call for Supreme Court reform, continue pushing for cancer research funding, and seek to combat climate change and gun violence.
"Over the next six months, I will be focused on doing my job as president," Biden said.
Praises Harris
In his speech, drafted with longtime aides Mike Donilon and Vinay Reddy, as well as historian Jon Meacham, Biden praised Harris as "an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country."
"She experienced. She's tough. She's capable," Biden said,
Biden had not previously been able to speak directly to his decision due to a Covid infection that forced him off the campaign trail; instead the president initially announced his withdrawal in a letter posted to his social media channels.
It marked an ignominious end to Biden's fourth presidential campaign, and effectively conceded that his years-long insistence that he was best positioned to keep Trump from the White House no longer remained true.
A wave of well-wishes and acclaim from Democrats for the president flooded in after Biden's announcement, including elected officials who'd only days earlier been calling for him to bow out.
But the moment was a bittersweet one for the president, who was joined by family members and longtime advisers as he delivered the speech. First lady Jill Biden posted a note to social media following the announcement thanking supporters - but also acknowledging loyalties had been tested.
"To those who never wavered, to those who refused to doubt, to those who always believed, my heart is full of gratitude," she said.
The president cast his choice as evidence of the central argument of his campaign, which painted Democrats as defenders of vital institutions and democratic principles at risk during a second Trump term.
"The defense of democracy is more important than any title," Biden said.
'Finish line'
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier Wednesday that Biden's decision had "nothing to do with his health" and dismissed questions of whether he'd consider resigning before the end of his term as "ridiculous." She also batted aside questions of whether Harris' staff would be given more access or an expanded role in the administration.
"He's going to run through the finish line," Jean-Pierre said. "We don't see ourselves as a lame-duck president at all."
Biden will leave office with a record that includes landmark legislative achievements - including the Covid-era American Rescue Plan, a clean-energy law and bipartisan measures funding infrastructure and semiconductor manufacturing.
But he suffered under the weight of record-low approval ratings driven by rising worries about his age and acuity. That made Democrats fearful they were headed for a sweep in races for the presidency, House and Senate if Biden remained at the helm.
Inflation and border security, in particular, were millstones for Biden and are sure to remain a headwind for Harris if she's formally nominated.
Biden said he gave his heart and soul to the nation, and hoped Americans knew how grateful he was for the opportunity to serve.
"Nowhere else on earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as president of the United States," Biden said. "Here I am."
