Biden gives the speech he never wanted to, and does it with passion and grace

Washington: Four days after he withdrew from the 2024 US presidential election, Joe Biden delivered the most consequential speech he never wanted to give.

He explained his stunning decision to stand down, acknowledging that the “best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation”.

President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the White House Oval Office on Wednesday (Thursday AEST).Credit: AP

He outlined what was at stake if Donald Trump returned to power, noting that the defence of democracy was “more important than any title”. And he urged his disillusioned country to get out and vote.

In an 11-minute prime-time address from the Oval Office, he said that the US was a land where “kings and dictators do not rule. The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands.”

It was a passionate and thoughtful speech emblematic of the politician who gave it. Here was a man who entered the US Congress as one of the country’s youngest-ever senators in 1972 and would spend the next half-century devoting his life to public service.

Now, here was a man who would leave the White House in January 2025 as America’s oldest president, pushed out by a pressure campaign and the one thing he could not control: time.

It was not the ending he imagined, nor was it the one he deserved. Indeed, as the 81-year-old Democrat made clear in his speech, he genuinely believed his record and leadership merited a second term.

“I revere this office, but I love my country more,” Biden said, sitting behind the famed Resolute Desk where dozens of other presidents have sat before him.

“Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.”

The speech was Biden’s first public address since he withdrew from the race on Sunday afternoon (Monday AEST) and endorsed his 59-year-old vice president, Kamala Harris.

Until his announcement at 1.46pm that afternoon, the president had been determined to dig in despite internal pressure and concerns about his mental acuity.

He made the call to stand down after two of his most trusted advisers – Steve Ricchetti and Mike Donilon – presented him with a litany of new evidence showing campaign donations were drying up, his path to victory was gone, and more defections were likely.

The political shift was swift and seismic. Within 24 hours of Biden’s departure, Harris had secured the delegates she needed to win the party’s nomination at next month’s Democratic National Convention, along with $US81 million in donations.

Washington residents are now wearing “Harris for President 2024” T-shirts; DC bars have a new signature drink, the pina Kamala; and Harris’ official campaign song, Freedom by Beyoncé, can be heard blasting from speakers in cars and clubs.

Most notable, though, is the change within the Democratic Party, which has pivoted from despair and disarray over Biden’s candidacy to excitement and hope about their chances in November.

“President Biden’s selfless decision has given the Democratic Party the opportunity to unite behind a new nominee, and boy, oh boy, are we enthusiastic,” said a visibly elated Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer as he gave Harris his endorsement on Tuesday, 10 days after privately telling Biden his time was all but up.

If Biden was angry about the cards he had been dealt, he didn’t show it in his address.

Dressed in a dark suit and a light blue tie, he appeared wistful and resigned as he addressed the nation in a room filled with about 40 family members, top advisers and White House aides.

‘The privilege of my life’

Despite his lame-duck status, he pledged to use the next six months to tackle gun violence, reform the Supreme Court, strengthen European and Indo-Pacific alliances and end the war in Gaza to bring the remaining hostages home.

He said Harris was tough, capable and someone who had been “an incredible partner to me”.

He thanked Americans for “the privilege of my life” and reflected on how a “kid with a stutter” from working-class Scranton, Pennsylvania, could one day become president.

And he framed the election as a contrast between moving forward or backwards, between hope and hate, and between unity and division.

“We have to decide: do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy ... does character in public office still matter?” he asked. “Now, the choice is up to you.”

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