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President Joe Biden was supposed to have spent the evening watching the start of a convention built around propelling him to four more years in the White House.
Instead, he was on stage delivering an emotional address as an animated crowd inside Chicago’s United Center poured out their gratitude at his decision to stand aside and pass the torch to Kamala Harris.
In remarks that revisited many of his campaign themes, and as Harris looked on from a box alongside running mate Tim Walz, Biden told the Democratic National Convention that despite the threats that inspired his 2020 presidential run, “democracy has prevailed” and “democracy has delivered.”
“And now, democracy must be preserved,” he said.
“Are you ready to vote for freedom?” Biden asked the audience. “Are you ready to vote for democracy and for America? Let me ask you, are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?”
After an introduction by his daughter Ashley, Biden walked on stage and embraced her to the sounds of Jackie Wilson’s “(Your Love Keeps Lifting Me) Higher and Higher” and deafening chants of “Thank you Joe!” He took a tissue from his pocket to wipe his eyes.
“Family is the beginning, the middle, and the end,” he said after praising his daughter and his “rock”, first lady Jill Biden. “And America, I love you.”
His remarks championed his support for labor unions, his major economic and infrastructure-boosting accomplishments, and the democratic advocacy that puts him in stark contrast to Donald Trump.
“Because of you, we’ve had one of the most extraordinary four years of progress ever, period,” he said. “And when I say ‘we,’ I mean Kamala and me.”
Biden raged at his Republican rival for his efforts to tank bipartisan legislation for US-Mexico border security, and for his false claims surrounding the 2020 election, which fueled political violence.
“You cannot say you love your country only when you win,” he said.
According to a source familiar with Biden’s plans, his remarks were crafted over the last week with the aid of Mike Donilon, his longtime aide and former White House counselor, as well as other close confidants.
In her remarks, first lady Jill Biden praised her husband of nearly 50 years. “Joe knows that our nation’s strength doesn’t come from intimidation,” she said. “It comes from the small acts of kindness that heal deep wounds, from service to the communities that make us who we are ... Kamala Harris knows that, too.”
Biden is not expected to attend any of the remaining three days of convention activities. Instead, he is set to travel to Santa Ynez, California, where he and his family will remain for a summer vacation.
It’s a remarkable exit from the stage for Biden, who has directed his White House staff to devote the remaining five months of his term — the home stretch of a full half-century in public life — to focus on completing his administration’s work and burnishing his legacy.
Two months ago, Biden appeared to be coasting towards his party’s nomination as an incumbent president who’d won every single primary contest save one, with the support of nearly all of the delegates who’d select the Democratic Party’s standard-bearer.
But after a month of pressure from the highest ranks of his party — and after reviewing polling data that showed that Harris could mount a credible campaign against the man Biden defeated four years ago — he made the decision to stand down days after the Republican convention wrapped last month.
While Trump has spent the weeks since that day suggesting that Biden is so angry about having to step aside that he would try to reclaim the nomination — something that would be impossible under both Democratic Party rules and numerous state laws governing ballot access — the president hasn’t displayed so much as a hint of anger over the situation.
He told convention-goers that serving as president had been the “honor of a lifetime” for him.
“I love this job, but I love my country more,” he said, before flatly denying any hard feelings over his ouster.
“All this talk about how I’m angry at all those people who said I should step down — that’s not true,” he said.
Harris and Walz, he added, would “continue to lead America forward, creating more jobs, standing up for workers, growing the economy,” and would “lower the cost to American families so they just have a little more breathing room.”
“We made incredible progress. We have more work to do, and Kamala and Tim will continue to take on corporate greed and bring down the cost of food. They’ll keep taking on big pharma, making insulin $35 a month, not just for seniors but for everyone in America,” he said.
Recalling the Oval Office address he delivered after announcing that he was standing aside, Biden reminded the crowd that their votes “will determine whether democracy and freedom will prevail.”
“It’s that simple, it’s that serious, and the power is literally in your hands. History is in your hands,” he said.
His voice growing emotional as he brought his remarks to a close, Biden said that the country he has led for the last four years “is, and always has been, a nation of possibilities.”
“Kamala and Tim understand that this nation must continue to be a place of possibilities, not just for the few of us but for all of us. Join me in promising your whole heart to this effort,” he said, adding that he would be “the best volunteer” the Harris-Walz campaign would ever see.
“I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you for 50 years,” he said. “Like many of you, I gave my heart and soul to our nation, and I’ve been blessed a million times in return with the support of the American people ... I hope you know how grateful I am to all of you.”
