President Joe Biden said Wednesday that while he believes his record merits a second term in office, he dropped his reelection bid to “unite my party” to confront a threat to American democracy.
“Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition,” Biden said, before invoking a line from President Kennedy. “So I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation.”
Biden withdrew from the presidential race on Sunday under pressure from party leaders, donors and rank-and-file Democrats, who feared that his advancing age left him incapable of stopping Donald Trump from returning to the presidency.
In the speech, delivered from the Oval Office, Biden made only glancing reference to his age, saying it was time for “younger voices” to come to the fore.
He has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, who quickly secured commitments from the delegates needed to claim the Democratic nomination.
“America’s going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division,” he said. “We have to decide if we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy.”
Biden also sought to reassure Americans that he can finish out his term over the next six months, saying he will push for Supreme Court reform as well as an end to the war in Gaza.
Earlier on Wednesday, Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of Congress on the ongoing conflict. About 5,000 protesters demonstrated outside the Capitol.
On the campaign trail Wednesday, Trump sought to blame Harris for hiding Biden’s infirmity from the American people, which he called “the biggest scandal in American political history.”
“Harris shamelessly lied to the American public to cover up Joe Biden’s mental unfitness,” Trump said in Charlotte, N.C.
