Biden uses Oval Office address to explain his decision to quit 2024 race, begins to shape legacy
WASHINGTON — By insisting that “defending democracy is more important than any title,” President Joe Biden will explain his decision to drop his bid for re-election and endorse President Barack Obama in a speech in the Oval Office on Wednesday. Vice President Kamala Harris.
The speech offered the public the first chance to hear directly from Biden about why he was withdrawing from the 2024 election after weeks of insisting he believed he was the best candidate to win the 2024 election. former president donald trumpwhich he called an existential threat to the country’s democracy. It also gave Biden a chance to try to shape how history views his one-term term.
“Defending democracy is more important than any title,” Biden said. “Nothing, nothing can stand in the way of us saving our democracy. And that includes personal ambition.”
Biden said: “I respect this office, but I love my country more.”
Biden’s candidacy faced a crisis of confidence among Democrats after his abysmal debate against Trump nearly a month ago, in which he spoke haltingly, looked ashen and failed to rebut his predecessor’s attacks. It led to a mutiny within his party, not only over whether he could beat Trump in November but whether, at 81, he was still cut out for the high-pressure job.
Biden tried to overcome skepticism and assuage concerns with interviews and tepid rallies, but the pressure to step aside, from both the party’s political elite and ordinary voters, only grew.
On Sunday afternoon, while isolating at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, due to COVID-19, Biden finally bowed out in a letter posted to his X account announcing his decision to withdraw from the race. He later followed up with an endorsement of Harris.
“I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” said Biden, who said he wanted to make room for “fresh voices, yes, younger voices.”
He added: “That is the best way to unite our nation.”
Biden’s speech was carried by major broadcast and cable news networks. He vowed to remain focused on the presidency until his term ends at noon on January 20, 2025, and said he would work to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, fight to increase government funding for cancer treatment and call for reform of the Supreme Court.
The president hoped his speech would outline the stakes of the election, which both Biden and Harris presented as a choice between freedom and chaos. But he tried to campaign openly from his official position and never mentioned Trump by name.
“The great thing about America is that kings and dictators don’t rule here,” Biden said. “The people do. History is in your hands. Power is in your hands. The idea of America — it’s in your hands.”
Biden also wanted to make the case for his legacy of sweeping domestic legislation and renewing alliances abroad. How history remembers his time in office and his historic decision to step aside is intertwined with Harris’s election result in November, especially as the vice president closely watches the Biden administration’s performance.
According to his advisers, he plans to organize campaign events and fundraisers on Harris’ behalf, but at a much slower pace than if he had remained on the ballot himself.
Harris’ advisers will ultimately have to decide how to deploy the president, whose popularity has plummeted as voters in both parties questioned his fitness for office.
Biden, his aides say, knows that if Harris loses, he will be criticized for staying in the race too long and not giving her or any other Democrat time to mount an effective campaign against Trump. If she wins, she will ensure that his policy victories are secured and expanded, and he will be remembered for a Washingtonian decision to step aside for the next generation of leaders.
Spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that any question about Biden resigning — which would allow Harris to run as the sitting representative — was “ridiculous.”
Jean-Pierre said Biden has “no regrets” about his decision to stay in the race for so long, or his decision to drop out last weekend. She said Biden’s decision had nothing to do with his health.