Joe Biden addressed the Democratic National Convention on Monday not as a candidate, but as a supporter passing the baton to his vice president, Kamala Harris . The president spoke for nearly an hour in what felt like his political swan song. “I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you,” he 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 returned, with the support of the American people. I was too young to be in the Senate because I wasn’t 30 yet, and I’m too old to stay as president, but I hope you know how grateful I am to all of you. I can honestly say that I’m more optimistic about the future than I was when I was elected as a 29-year-old senator.
” Biden: America, I gave my best to you. pic.twitter.
com/h5T3F2h7pd Biden was greeted with an enormous ovation after being introduced by his daughter Ashley, and before that his wife, First Lady Jill Biden. The president fought back tears as he met his daughter onstage. A “We love Joe!” chant broke out, to which Biden replied, “I love you!” “I love my country more,” Biden added.
“And we need to preserve our democracy! In 2024 we need you to vote, we need you to keep the Senate too, we need you to win back the House of Representatives — and above all, we need you to beat Donald Trump !” “Selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made when I became the nominee,” he said. “It was the best decision I made in my whole career.” “She is tough, she is experienced, and she has enormous integrity.
And enormous integrity. Her story represents the best American story. Like many of our best presidents, she was also vice president,” Biden said to thunderous cheers.
It was a joyous affair — a retirement party for the ages. Many attendees cried. While pro-Palestine protesters sought to interrupt his speech several times, they were largely drowned out by supporters, and Biden plowed ahead with a fiery speech.
“We have to remember who we are,” he intoned at one point, raising his voice to say: “We are the United States of America!” Editor’s picks Every Awful Thing Trump Has Promised to Do in a Second Term The 250 Greatest Guitarists of All Time The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time Inside Sammy Davis Jr.'s Secret Satanic Past “Kamala and Tim understand that this country has to continue to be a place for possibilities, not just a few of us but for all of us,” Biden added of the new Democratic ticket. “Join me in promising your whole heart to this effort.
And my heart will be — I’ll be the best volunteer that Harris and Walz have ever seen.” It’s been less than a month since Biden bowed out of the 2024 presidential race, and plenty has changed. His vice president, Harris, has ascended to the head of the Democratic ticket, and selected Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate.
The pair are riding a wave of enthusiasm that seems to be — for the first time in months — giving Democrats a fighting chance for victory in November. Biden’s withdrawal from the race was keyed by an exceptionally poor debate performance against Donald Trump, in which the president looked frail, struggled to complete his thoughts, and failed to make a convincing case against the Republican nominee. While he occasionally stumbled Monday night — and acknowledged his age — Biden gave a hard-charging speech, repeatedly hammering Trump while touting the Biden-Harris administration’s accomplishments.
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She appeared to say , “I love you.”.
