President Joe Biden revealed his reason for dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris during a prime time speech from the Oval Office on Wednesday night.
Reading from a teleprompter on Wednesday, Biden said, “I revere this office, but I love my country more. It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it’s more important than any title.”
In his speech, Biden claimed that the United States is “at an inflection point.” The 81-year-old president then repeated a statement Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre made to reporters earlier on Wednesday, arguing that America was at “one of those rare moments in history where the decisions we make now will determine our fate of our nation and the world for decades to come.”
Biden added, “America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division.”
The Post Millennial reported that Biden, who was pressured out of the 2024 race after stumbling over his words and repeatedly losing his train of thought during the June presidential debate against former President Donald Trump, once again stumbled over his words throughout Wednesday’s speech as he read from a teleprompter that appeared to be too high for his line of sight in the camera.
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Addressing his sudden decision to drop out of the race after resisting calls to step down for weeks from top Democrats, Biden said, “In recent weeks, it’s become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future, all merited a second term.”
While Biden said his leadership “merited a second term,” the president claimed that even “personal ambition” could not “come in the way of saving our democracy.” As a result, Biden said his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race would allow him to “pass the torch to a new generation.”
“That’s the best way to unite our nation,” the president added. “You know, there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life, there’s also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices, and that time and place is now.”
