Top line
President Joe Biden delivered an emotional speech on Monday at the conclusion of the first night of the Democratic National Convention, announcing his decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race and urging voters to “preserve democracy” by supporting Vice President Kamala Harris.
President Joe Biden speaks at the Democratic Party Convention.
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The crowd at the convention greeted the visibly moved Biden with a long standing ovation and shouts of “Thank you, Joe” and “We love Joe,” to which he responded with “America, I love you.”
After highlighting his key legislative accomplishments over the past four years, Biden said serving as president had been the greatest honor of his life, adding, “I love the job, but I love my country more,” as he alluded to his decision to drop out of the 2024 campaign.
Biden also dismissed reports that he was frustrated at being pushed to withdraw from the race, saying, “All this talk about how angry I am at all the people who said I should withdraw… That’s not true.”
Speaking about his long political career – during which he also made some jokes about his age – Biden said, “I’ve made a lot of mistakes in my career,” then added, “America, I’ve done my best for you.”
The president said nominating Harris as his running mate was the very first decision he made after becoming the Democratic nominee in 2020 and “it was the best decision I made in my entire career.”
This is an evolving story.
