Joe Biden Addresses the Nation From the Oval Office After Ending His 2024 Bid for Re-Election

TIME

President Joe Biden made his first address since his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race. In remarks given from the Oval Office, President Biden delivered a solemn call to voters to defend the country's democracy as he laid out his decision to drop his bid for reelection and throw his support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.

Transcript

00:00My fellow Americans, I'm speaking to you tonight

00:04from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office.

00:08In this sacred space, I'm surrounded by portraits

00:11of extraordinary American presidents.

00:14Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words

00:17that guide this nation.

00:19George Washington showed us presidents are not kings.

00:23Abraham Lincoln, who implored us to reject malice.

00:28Franklin Roosevelt, who inspired us to reject fear.

00:33I revere this office, but I love my country more.

00:38It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president.

00:42But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake,

00:45I think it's more important than any title.

00:48I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people.

00:53But this sacred task of perfecting our union

00:57is not about me.

00:59It's about you, your families, your futures.

01:04It's about we, the people.

01:06We can never forget that. And I never have.

01:11I've made it clear that I believe America

01:14is at an inflection point.

01:16One of those rare moments in history

01:18when the decisions we make now determine our fate of our nation

01:23and the world for decades to come.

01:25America is going to have to choose

01:28between moving forward or backward,

01:31between hope and hate, between unity and division.

01:36We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty,

01:39decency, respect, freedom, justice, and democracy?

01:45In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies,

01:50but as fellow Americans. Can we do that?

01:54Does character in public life still matter?

01:58I believe I know the answer to these questions

02:01because I know you, the American people.

02:04And I know this, we are a great nation

02:07because we are a good people.

02:10When you elected me to this office,

02:13I promised to always level with you,

02:16to tell you the truth.

02:19And the truth, the sacred cause of this country

02:22is larger than any one of us.

02:25And those of us who cherish that cause, cherish it so much,

02:29the cause of American democracy itself,

02:33must unite to protect it.

02:35You know, in recent weeks, it's become clear to me

02:38that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor.

02:43I believe my record as President, my leadership in the world,

02:48my vision for America's future all merited a second term.

02:54But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy.

02:59That includes personal ambition.

03:02So I've decided the best way forward

03:05is to pass the torch to a new generation.

03:09That's the best way to unite our nation.

03:12You know, there is a time and a place

03:14for long years of experience in public life.

03:17There's also a time and a place for new voices,

03:21fresh voices, yes, younger voices.

03:24And that time and place is now.

03:28Over the next six months,

03:30I'll be focused on doing my job as President.

03:33That means I'll continue to lower costs

03:35for hardworking families, grow our economy.

03:39I'll keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights,

03:43from the right to vote to the right to choose.

03:46I'll keep calling out hate and extremism,

03:49make it clear there is no place,

03:50no place in America for political violence

03:54or any violence ever, period.

03:58I'm going to keep speaking out

04:00to protect our kids from gun violence,

04:03our planet from climate crisis that is the existential threat.

04:07And I will keep fighting for my cancer moonshot

04:11so we can end cancer as we know it because we can do it.

04:15I'm going to call for Supreme Court reform

04:18because this is critical to our democracy,

04:21Supreme Court reform.

04:24You know, I'll keep working to ensure Americans

04:28remain strong and secure and the leader of the free world.

04:33I'm the first President in this century

04:36to report to the American people

04:38that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world.

04:42We'll keep rallying a coalition of proud nations

04:45to stop Putin from taking over Ukraine, doing more damage.

04:50We'll keep NATO stronger,

04:52and I'll make it more powerful and more united

04:55than any time in all of our history.

04:58I'll keep doing the same for allies in the Pacific.

05:01You know, when I came to office,

05:03the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably,

05:06would inevitably pass the United States.

05:10That's not the case anymore.

05:13And I'm going to keep working to end the war in Gaza,

05:16bring home all the hostages,

05:18and bring peace and security to the Middle East

05:20and end this war.

05:23We're also working around the clock

05:24to bring home Americans being unjustly detained

05:27all around the world.

05:30You know, we've come so far since my inauguration.

05:35On that day, I told you, as I stood in that winter,

05:38we were stood in a winter of peril

05:42and a winter of possibilities.

05:44Peril of possibilities.

05:47We're in the grip of the war. We were in the grip

05:49of the worst pandemic in the century.

05:51The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

05:55The worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War.

06:00We came together as Americans, and we got through it.

06:04We emerged stronger, more prosperous, and more secure.

06:08Today, we have the strongest economy in the world,

06:09creating nearly 16 million new jobs a record.

06:13Wages are up. Inflation continues to come down.

06:17The racial wealth gap is the lowest it's been in 20 years.

06:21We're literally rebuilding our entire nation,

06:23urban, suburban, rural, and tribal communities.

06:26Manufacturing has come back to America.

06:29We're leading the world again in chips,

06:31in science, and innovation.

06:33We finally beat Big Pharma after all these years

06:36to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors.

06:39And I'm going to keep fighting

06:40to make sure we lower the cost for everyone,

06:42not just seniors.

06:45More people have healthcare today in America

06:47than ever before.

06:49And I signed one of the most significant laws

06:50helping millions of veterans and their families

06:54who are exposed to toxic materials.

06:57You know, the most significant climate law ever,

07:01ever in the history of the world.

07:04The first major gun safety law in 30 years.

07:07Today, the violent crime rate is at a 50-year low.

07:12We're also securing our border.

07:15Border crossings are lower today

07:17than when the previous administration left office.

07:20I've kept my commitment to appoint the first Black woman

07:23to the Supreme Court of the United States of America.

07:26I also kept my commitment to have an administration

07:29that looks like America

07:31and be a President for all Americans.

07:34That's what I've done.

07:37I ran for President four years ago

07:40because I believed and still do

07:41that the soul of America was at stake.

07:44The very nature of who we are was at stake.

07:47And that's still the case.

07:50America is an idea, an idea stronger than any army,

07:55bigger than any ocean,

07:57more powerful than any dictator or tyrant.

07:59It's the most powerful idea in the history of the world.

08:03That idea is that we hold these truths to be self-evident.

08:07We're all created equal.

08:09Endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights,

08:11life, liberty, pursuit of happiness.

08:14We've never fully lived up to it, to this sacred idea,

08:18but we've never walked away from it either.

08:20And I do not believe the American people

08:22will walk away from it now.

08:25In just a few months, the American people

08:28will choose the course of America's future.

08:31I made my choice. I've made my views known.

08:35I would like to thank our great Vice President Kamala Harris.

08:39She's experienced. She's tough. She's capable.

08:43She's been an incredible partner to me

08:45and a leader for our country.

08:48Now the choice is up to you, the American people.

08:51When you make that choice,

08:53remember the words of Benjamin Franklin

08:54hanging on my wall here in the Oval Office,

08:58alongside the busts of Dr. King and Rosa Parks

09:01and Cesar Chavez.

09:04When Ben Franklin was asked,

09:05as he emerged from the convention going on,

09:12whether the founders have given America a monarchy or republic,

09:17Franklin's response was,

09:19a republic if you can keep it. A republic if you can keep it.

09:26Whether we keep our republic is now in your hands.

09:29My fellow Americans, it's been the privilege of my life

09:33to serve this nation for over 50 years.

09:36Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter

09:41from modest beginnings in Scranton,

09:42Pennsylvania and Claremont, Delaware,

09:45one day sit behind the Resolute Desk

09:47in the Oval Office as President of the United States.

09:50But here I am. That's what's so special about America.

09:55We're a nation of promise and possibilities,

09:58of dreamers and doers,

10:00of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things.

10:05I've given my heart and my soul to our nation,

10:08like so many others.

10:10I've been blessed a million times in return

10:14with the love and support of the American people.

10:17I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you.

10:20The great thing about America is here,

10:25kings and dictators do not rule, the people do.

10:30History is in your hands. The power is in your hands.

10:35The idea of America lies in your hands.

10:38You just have to keep faith, keep the faith.

10:41And remember who we are. We're the United States of America.

10:45And there's simply nothing, nothing beyond our capacity

10:49when we do it together.

10:51So let's act together, preserve our democracy.

10:55God bless you all. And may God protect our troops.

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