President Joe Biden addressed the nation today from the Oval Office, marking his first public appearance in days since he caught Covid.
“I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That is the best way to unite our nation.”
Joe Biden
This is the first time President Biden has publicly announced his intention to drop out of the race and alluded to his endorsement of Kamala Harris.
“When you elected me to this office, I promised to always level with you and tell you the truth, and the truth is that the sacred cause of this country is larger than any one of us,” he said. “In recent weeks it’s become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future all merited a second term. But nothing – nothing – can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.”
Biden gave a promise to continue to be “focused on doing my job as president”, despite his clear objective to not run again as the Democratic Party’s nominee, which has been taken by Kamala Harris.
Harris herself has been preparing her campaign, raising more than $126 million in under 72 hours since Biden showed his support for her as his successor. More than 40,000 new voters have registered with the Democratic Party, with a large number under the age of 34. Biden said today that “There’s a time and place for long years of experience in public life, but there’s also a time and place for new voices, fresh voices – yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”
Biden also stressed the importance of this year’s election for the United States, stating that “America is at an inflection point – one of those rare moments in history where the decisions we make now determine our fate, the fate of the nation and the world for decades to come,” he said. “America is going to have to choose between moving forward or moving backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy,” a thinly-veiled attack on former President Trump’s election campaign, which is currently gaining steam after the recent attempt on his life by the Pennsylvania shooter.
Recent polls have stated that Harris has a decent chance of defeating Trump in the 2024 election, which may even have higher voter turnout than the 2020 election. 2024 has the possiblity of being one of the most contentious elections in US history.
Source: Reuters
