WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden called the decision to end his re-election campaign a “defense of democracy” in a speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday night.
“I respect this office, but I love my country more. Defending democracy is more important than any title,” Biden said. “I draw strength and joy from working for the American people. But this sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me. It’s about you. Your families. Your future. It’s about ‘We the People.'”
It is rare for an American president to voluntarily relinquish power without the force of rejection by the electorate or the limits of the Constitution. Biden, who bowed to intense pressure from within his own party to step aside as a candidate, presented his choice as one made in the best interests of the nation and called on Americans to join him in “preserving our democracy.”
He and other Democrats consistently argue that former President Donald Trump is a threat to democracy. Trump refused to concede defeat after losing the 2020 election to Biden, but his defeat led to a mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in an attempt to stop the certification.
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“America is going to have to choose between moving forward and going backward,” Biden said, without directly naming Trump. “Between hope and hate. Between unity and division.”
He added: “Our republic is now in your hands.”
The speech, which came three days after he dropped his bid, marks the beginning of Biden’s attempt to carve out a legacy after a disastrous debate performance in late June that prompted calls from members of his own party to abandon the campaign trail and let another candidate challenge Trump. Many Democrats believed Biden’s clumsy debate performance and halting attempt to clean it up made his path to re-election murky.
“I’ve decided that the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” Biden said in speeches that he delivered in a low, sometimes halting tone. “That’s the best way to unite our nation.”
At a campaign rally in North Carolina on Wednesday night, Trump went after his former opponent. “Three days ago, we officially defeated the worst president in the history of our country, the corrupt Joe Biden,” he said.
Biden suspended his re-election campaign early Sunday afternoon, announcing his decision in a message on X. About half an hour later, he followed up with an endorsement of his Vice President, Kamala Harris, for the Democratic presidential candidate.
She quickly gained support within her party and is expected to win a virtual slate of Democratic delegates as early as August 1 and no later than August 7 — perhaps unopposed.
Biden spoke highly of Harris on Wednesday evening.
“She’s experienced, she’s tough, she’s capable,” Biden said. “She’s an incredible partner for me and leader for our country.”
By ceding the nomination to her, Biden became the first incumbent to concede his party’s presidential nomination since Lyndon Johnson in 1968. That was two years before Biden first ran for office in Delaware, winning a seat on the New Castle County City Council.
Two years later, at age 29, he defeated Republican Senator Caleb Boggs in a fierce campaign. Biden would win six more terms in the Senate — at various times chairing the Judiciary and Foreign Relations committees — with his final victory coming in the same year, 2008, when he was elected vice president. Biden was re-elected as vice president alongside President Barack Obama in 2012. He emerged from retirement to defeat a crowded field of rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, ultimately defeating Trump that November.
His decision to retire rather than remain on the 2024 ballot means he will end his career undefeated in a general election, despite running for president in 1988 and 2008 and losing. It also marks the end of a career focused on the presidency. Biden first considered running for the Oval Office in the first election he was old enough to run for, in 1980, and has considered bids in most years when no incumbent Democrat was on the ballot.
Once seen as a centrist within his party, Biden won support from progressives in Congress early in his administration. He and his Democratic allies credit him with carrying out the most sweeping domestic agenda since the Johnson administration — a claim that’s hard to measure and that critics disagree with.
By any measure, Biden has signed major measures that are having a major impact on the country, including a nearly $2 trillion COVID relief package, a $1 trillion infrastructure package and a bill known as the Inflation Reduction Act, which includes key provisions to get climate change under control.
In addition to naming Harris — the first woman, the first Black woman, and the first Asian American person to serve as vice president — to his slate, he nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman confirmed to the Supreme Court.
Biden said Wednesday night that his record “deserved a second term.”
But, he said, “nothing, nothing can stand in our way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.”
Biden vowed to continue his agenda until a new president is sworn in on January 20.
“Over the next six months, I will focus on my work as president,” he said. “That means continuing to lower costs for hardworking families and growing our economy. I will continue to defend our personal freedoms and our civil rights — from the right to vote to the right to choose.”
He also nodded to what he saw as the danger of a second Trump presidency, implicitly calling on Americans to reject their longtime rival.
“The great thing about America is that kings and dictators don’t rule here,” he said. “The people do. History is in your hands. Power is in your hands. The idea of America is in your hands.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
