Biden says it is time to step aside for a fresh, younger voice

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden told the American public in an Oval Office address Wednesday that he had abandoned his re-election campaign because there is “a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices – yes, younger voices.”

His words, lasting 11 minutes in all, were the first extensive ones from Biden since his decision to step aside and expanded on his initial announcement, delivered in a post on social media Sunday, that he was dropping out of the race. His tone was wistful, and his speech was an early farewell.

“It’s been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years,” he said

Sitting behind the Resolute Desk and surrounded by photos of his family, Biden ticked through the accomplishments of his term, ranging from the choice of the first Black woman to be a Supreme Court justice to pulling the country out of a paralyzing pandemic. He expressed gratitude to the American people for allowing a “kid with a stutter” from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, to reach the pinnacle of American politics.

Just beyond the camera, dozens of aides and several members of his family, including Jill Biden, the first lady, watched as Joe Biden said he would walk away from the office they had worked to help him reach for decades.

“I revere this office,” he said, “but I love my country more.”

Ultimately, Biden said, he concluded that “the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.” The president praised Vice President Kamala Harris – “she’s experienced; she’s tough; she’s capable” – but warned, as he has for years, that Americans faced a choice between preserving democracy and allowing it to backslide.

“History is in your hands,” Biden said. “The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. We just have to keep faith, keep the faith, and remember who we are.”

Biden, who spent the first part of the week recovering from COVID at his beach house in Delaware, spoke with a rasp and slight slur in his voice, speaking sometimes haltingly as he promised that he would defend his legacy and do what he could to help Harris win the election against former President Donald Trump. He stared straight ahead into the camera and seldom blinked.

“Over the next six months I will be focused on doing my job as president,” Biden said. “That means I will continue to lower costs for hardworking families, grow our economy. I will keep defending our personal freedoms and civil rights, from the right to vote to the right to choose.”

This speech was the fourth Oval Office address of Biden’s presidency and the second just this month. Ten days ago, Biden urged Americans to lower the political temperature after a gunman opened fire at a Trump rally in Pennsylvania, wounding the former president and killing one of his supporters.

Other than saying it was time to pass the torch to someone young, Biden offered no other reason for his decision to step down. He did not mention the three-week pressure campaign from his own party to get him out of the race after his faltering and at times incoherent debate performance with Trump on June 27.

Biden and his advisers, aides said, still believed that he had a path to victory but that he had been unable to flip the focus from his debate showing back onto the policies espoused by Trump. His decision to turn the race over to Harris ultimately overrode some of his private concerns about her ability to be able to win in a general election.

The drafting of his Wednesday address began Sunday after Biden made the decision to drop out. Mike Donilon, one of the president’s senior aides, helped Biden fashion the remarks. Jon Meacham, the presidential historian, contributed to the speech, as well as Vinay Reddy, a White House speechwriter.

Biden now has six months to bolster a legacy that he is proud of but that gained little traction among Democratic voters, who had long registered their concerns in polls about his age and ability to do the job. Over the last 3½ years, Biden worked to repair frayed relations with American allies in the West, passed a raft of landmark legislation and helped lead the country out of a crippling pandemic.

But Biden, a former senator who spent 36 years priding himself in his ability to find compromise on legislation, now has little hope to deliver on unfulfilled promises he has made on issues ranging from women’s rights to voting protections.

In recent days, Harris has blazed onto the campaign trail, surfing a wave of hope and enthusiasm from Democratic voters that was absent during much of Biden’s presidency. Though Biden has promised to campaign vigorously for the vice president, his schedule for next week remains relatively clear, beyond a trip to Austin, Texas, on Monday to speak at the presidential library of President Lyndon Johnson – the last Democratic president who decided not to seek re-election.

Biden is also facing heightened pressure from Republicans – including Trump’s new running mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio – who argue that he must resign if he does not think he would be able to serve a second term.

In a press briefing Wednesday, Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House press secretary, said that Biden would not resign and, in fact, still believes that he would be able to fulfill his duties four years into a second term.

He did not say any of that in the Oval Office. Instead, he said repeatedly that he had put the good of the country before his political aspirations.

“Nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy,” Biden said. “That includes personal ambition.”

After Biden delivered his remarks, he stepped into the Rose Garden, where dozens of cheering White House officials awaited.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.