Just one month after making the historic choice to withdraw from the presidential race, Joe Biden took the stage at the Democratic national convention on Monday to deliver a reflective and optimistic address, urging the nation to elect Kamala Harris to protect American democracy.
Looking back on his one and only presidential term, Biden reminded Americans that he took office just two weeks after the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, when the country was still in the early grips of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Yet, I believe then and I believe now, that progress was and is possible. Justice is achievable, and our best days are not behind us. They’re before us,” Biden said. “With a grateful heart, I stand before you now on this August night to report that democracy has prevailed. Democracy has delivered, and now democracy must be preserved.”
Only a few weeks ago, Biden was expected to be on the convention stage this week to accept his party’s nomination for the second time. Instead, the speech came a month after Biden shocked the nation with his decision to not seek re-election. After weeks of mounting doubts about his ability to effectively campaign following a devastating debate performance, Biden announced that he would step aside.
He immediately endorsed Harris.
As he contemplated his five-decade career in politics, Biden said he was filled with appreciation for the tens of millions of Americans who have voted for him over the years.
“I hope you know how grateful I am to all of you,” the president said. “Giving my word as a Biden, I can honestly say I’m more optimistic about the future than I was when I was elected as a 29-year-old United States senator.”
On Monday, Biden described selecting Harris as his vice-president as “the best decision I made my whole career”, and he drew a sharp contrast between her and Donald Trump.
Mocking Trump over his recent conviction on 34 felony counts, Biden said: “Violent crime has dropped to the lowest level of more than 50 years, and crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office instead of a convicted felon.”
Biden landed other punches against Trump as well, attacking the Republican nominee for describing America as a “failing nation”. “When he talks about America being a failing nation, he says, we’re losing. He’s the loser. He’s dead wrong,” Biden said to loud cheers.
Even as he promoted Harris’ candidacy, Biden took a victory lap of sorts to celebrate his own legislative achievements over his four years in office. He reminded viewers of the major bills he signed, including the bipartisan infrastructure law and the Inflation Reduction Act.
“We’ve had one of the most extraordinary four years of progress ever, period,” Biden said. “Just think about it. Covid no longer controls our lives. We’ve gone from economic crisis to the strongest economy in the entire world.”
Still, Biden made a point to credit Harris with helping to deliver change. When discussing his administration’s efforts to lower prescription drug prices, Biden said, “Guess who cast the tie-breaking vote? Vice-president, soon-to-be-president, Kamala Harris.” And when audience members repeatedly broke out in chants of “Thank you, Joe,” the president responded, “Thank you, Kamala!”
The speech was not without its moments of conflict. One group of pro-Palestinian demonstrators displayed a banner reading, “Stop arming Israel!” Other convention attendees attempted to rip the banner away from them, and the lights were then dimmed over that section in the United Center. There appeared to be isolated shouts attacking Biden over his response to the war in Gaza, but those protesters were drowned out by the president’s supporters chanting, “We love Joe!”
However, the president did not shy away from discussing the war in Gaza. Nodding to the pro-ceasefire protests unfolding in Chicago this week, Biden said: “A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.”
Of the recent ceasefire negotiations, Biden said, “We’re working around the clock, my secretary of state, [to] prevent a wider war, reunite hostages with their families and surge humanitarian, health and food assistance into Gaza now to end the civilian suffering of the Palestinian people and finally, finally, finally, deliver a ceasefire and end this war.”
Critics of Biden’s handling of the war have suggested it will go down in history as the most shameful part of his legacy. As he spoke to fellow Democrats on Monday for what may be one of the last major speeches of his political career, Biden invoked a line from a favorite song, American Anthem: “America, I gave my best to you.”
“I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you,” Biden said. “For 50 years, like many of you, I gave my heart and soul to our nation, and I’ve been blessed a million times in return with the support of the American people.”
Now, with less than three months left before election day, Harris must hope that those Americans’ support will flow to her.
Democratic convention highlights: