President Joe Biden made a solemn appeal to voters on Wednesday (24) to defend the country’s democracy, explaining in a speech in the Oval Office of the White House his decision to abandon his re-election campaign and give his support to Vice President Kamala Harris.
Insisting that “the defense of democracy is more important than any title,” Biden did not directly criticize Trump, whom he called an existential threat to democracy. The 10-minute speech also gave the president the opportunity to try to define how history will remember his first and only term.
“Nothing, nothing can prevent the salvation of our democracy,” Biden said, in a somber conclusion to the 50 years he has spent in public office. “And that includes personal ambition.”
It was a moment that will likely go down in history books – a U.S. president reflecting before the nation on why he was taking the rare step of voluntarily handing over power. This had not happened since 1968, when Lyndon Johnson announced he would not seek re-election amid the criticized Vietnam War.
“I revere this office,” Biden said. “But I love my country more.”
Trump, just an hour earlier, at a campaign rally, revived his unfounded claims of electoral fraud in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost to Biden. His refusal to concede inspired the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection, which Biden called “the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.”
Biden navigated the political reality that brought him to this point: his poor performance in a debate against Trump nearly a month ago, where he spoke hesitantly, appeared pale, and failed to refute his predecessor’s attacks. This provoked a crisis of confidence among Democrats. Lawmakers and ordinary voters questioned not only whether he would be able to defeat Trump in November but also whether, at 81 years old, he was still fit for a high-pressure position.
Biden, who said he believed his record deserved another term, tried to survive the skepticism and calm concerns with lukewarm interviews and rallies, but the pressure to end his campaign only increased from the party’s political elites and ordinary voters.
“I have decided that the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” Biden said, stating that he wanted to make room for “new voices, yes, younger voices.”
He added: “That is the best way to unite our nation.”
It was a belated fulfillment of his 2020 promise to be a bridge to a new generation of leaders – and a nod to calls from within his party to step aside.
Source: AP