In Speech Biden Looks Forward, Gets Praised For “Patriotism”

Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz

WASHINGTON, DC (IANS) – President Joe Biden on July 24 told Americans in an Oval Office address that he ended his re-election campaign to “unify my party” with the larger goal of protecting American democracy and that goal is larger than “personal ambition”. He found it a good time to “pass the torch to a new generation”.

Biden, who had just recovered from Covid-19 infection and returned to the White House from self-isolation in his Delaware home on July 23, started haltingly but he settled down to his natural tone and tenor midway and went on to lay out his reasons for stepping aside and forging the path for his party and the country to protect and continue the democratic system handed down by the founders.

It was also a clear enunciation of all that his administration has achieved – it will be the record Kamala Harris will run on.

He spoke for nearly 11 minutes from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office, wearing a blue tie, the color used by Democrats to assert party affiliation. He was determined to not be seen as a lame-duck leader and laid out his agenda.

As his wont, Biden did not name Donald Trump but the reference was clear. “In recent weeks it’s become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor,” he said, of protecting American democracy. “I believe my record as President, my leadership of the world, my vision of 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, 81, announced his exit from the 2024 race for the White House past Sunday under mounting pressure from his party to make way for a different candidate after a disastrous performance in the first presidential debate against his Republican rival, former President Donald Trump.

He had said then he would explain his reasons in an address later, which took place in a widely anticipated prime time address.

The President detailed his presidency’s achievements — from extricating the country from the clutches of Covid-19 to passing the largest infrastructure and Climate Change Bill, naming an African American woman to the Supreme Court to lowering prices of diabetes drugs and leading a stronger NATO to prevent Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine to suggesting a framework for resolving the Israel-Hamas conflict. This was the first time in 100 years that the US was not in a war.

But, in conclusion, he said it was time for him to hand it over to the next generation.

Biden said he had made his choice clear by endorsing Kamala Harris, his Vice-President, for President. “History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America – lies in your hands.”

The media post-speech was almost united in praising Biden for his “patriotism,” and “humility” for looking beyond his own personal ambition, as most politicians do, and placing country first.

The media also paid attention to his accomplishments with several saying history was going to judge his years of public service with great positivity.