US President Joe Biden on Wednesday called on voters to defend the country’s democracy as he explained his decision to drop his bid for re-election and throw his support behind US Vice President Kamala Harris.
As “the defense of democracy is more important than any title,” Biden said that he was stepping aside to deliver an implicit repudiation of former US president Donald Trump in his first public address since his announcement on Sunday that he would not be the Democratic candidate. He did not name Trump, whom he has called an existential threat to democracy.
“Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” Biden said. “And that includes personal ambition.”
Photo: AFP
“I revere this office, but I love my country more,” Biden said.
Biden skirted the political reality that brought him to this point: His abysmal performance in a debate against Trump nearly a month ago, where he spoke haltingly, appeared ashen and failed to rebut his predecessor’s attacks, sparked a crisis of confidence among Democrats.
Lawmakers and ordinary voters questioned not just whether he was capable of beating Trump in November, but also whether he was still fit for the job.
Biden, who said he believed his record was deserving of another term in office, tried to outlast the skepticism and quell the concerns with interviews and tepid rallies, but the pressure to end his campaign only mounted from the party’s political elites and from ordinary voters.
“I have decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” Biden said, saying he wanted to make room for “fresh voices, yes, younger voices.”
“That is the best way to unite our nation,” he added.
He delivered a to-do list for his last six months in office, pledging to remain focused on being president until his term expires at noon on Jan. 20 next year.
He said he would work to end the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, fight to boost government support to cure cancer, address climate change and push for reform of the US Supreme Court.
The president sought to use the address to outline the stakes in the election, which Biden and Harris have framed as a choice between freedom and chaos.
“The great thing about America is here, kings and dictators do not rule,” Biden said. “The people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America — lies in your hands.”
Trump, who watched Biden’s remarks from his private jet, posted on the Truth social media platform that the president “was barely understandable, and sooo bad!”
Trump earlier criticized Harris, calling her a “radical left lunatic” at his first rally since she became the de facto Democratic Party nominee.
“She is a radical left lunatic who will destroy our country,” he told a crowd in North Carolina. “We’re not going to let that happen.”
Trump said she was “the ultra-liberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe.”
Her record on illegal migration has allowed communities to be “ravaged by migrant crime,” he said, adding that “she’s unfit to lead.”
“She wants abortions in the eighth and ninth month of pregnancy. That’s fine with her, right up until birth and even after birth, the execution of a baby,” Trump said.
Harris has accused Trump of seeking to ban abortion, previously saying that “we trust women to make decisions about their own bodies.”
Additional reporting by AFP
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