The president outlined plans for his final six months during a televised prime-time address on Wednesday night.
President Joe Biden outlined plans for his final six months in office while addressing the nation on Wednesday in his first prime-time televised speech since announcing his withdrawal from the 2024 presidential election.
Biden had been under intensifying pressure to drop out of the race from members of his own party following a disastrous performance during his June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump. The president on Sunday announced that he would no longer be seeking the Democratic nomination, endorsing the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris a short time later on the same day.
During his address on Wednesday night, Biden said that he dropped out of the race to “pass the torch to a new generation”, regardless of his own “personal ambition” to win and serve out a second term. The president said that the likely election between Harris and Trump would be a choice “between moving forward or backward.”
“It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president”, Biden said. “I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people. But this sacred task of perfecting our union—it’s not about me, it’s about you, your futures … Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy, that includes personal ambition.”
“I’ve decided that the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation”, he continued. That’s the best way to unite our nation … There is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life, but there’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices. Yes, younger voices. And that time and place is now.”
The president then outlined plans for the final months of his term as president, indicating that he has no intention of stepping down.
