This evening, President Joe Biden spoke from the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office and explained his public reasons for bowing out of the 2024 Presidential Race.
In an address that may become required reading in future American History classrooms, the President conveyed all the right themes in explaining why he had decided to not continue running for a second term after a first three and a half years of tremendous accomplishment.
Among the notable quotes from the address:
“I revere this office, but I love my country more.”
“I believe my record, my leadership, and my vision for our future merited a second term (IT DID) – but nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. The best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That’s how we unite our nation.”
He also outlined what he hoped to fight for and complete in the six months remaining in his historic Presidency including hoping to end the war in Gaza, further reducing costs for Americans, protecting civil liberties like voting and choice, and securing Supreme Court reform.
He saluted Vice President Kamala Harris, his choice for a successor by stating:
“I would like to thank our great Vice President, Kamala Harris. She’s experienced, tough, and capable. She has been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country.”
Reminding the people of the mess he inherited from Donald Trump with his mishandling of the Coronavirus, tanking of the economy, and attacking American Democracy, the President, citing Benjamin Franklin at the end of the Constitutional Convention when he told a lady that the delegates had created “A Republic if you can keep it,” said it was up to the people to decide on the direction of the country:
“In just a few months, the American people will choose the course of America’s future…The great thing about America is that here, 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.”
“America is at an inflection point. We must choose between moving forward or backward. Between hope and hate. Between unity and division. We have to decide: Do we still believe in honesty, decency, and respect? Freedom, justice, and Democracy?”
“The sacred cause of our country is larger than any one of us. And those of us who cherish that cause—the cause of American democracy itself—must unite to protect it.”
The President closed by thanking the millions of people who have supported him and reflected that he has lived the American Dream, saying:
“Nowhere else on earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States, but here I am. That’s what’s so special about America. We’re a nation of promise and possibilities, of dreamers and doers, of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things.”
Following her husband’s address, Dr. Jill Biden posted this on social media:
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