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.
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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.