Emotional Biden calls for support for Kamala Harris to beat Donald Trump and ‘preserve democracy’

An emotional Joe Biden did his best Monday to throw the full weight of his support behind Kamala Harris to succeed him as president of the United States. A month ago, Biden was still the presumptive Democratic nominee for re-election himself. After throwing in the towel in an exercise of realism in the face of pressure from his party and the public, Biden is now turning his attention to preventing Donald Trump from returning to the White House. He called for a vote for Harris to “preserve democracy.” The president received all the affection of the Democratic convention in Chicago, with an audience more devoted than ever, in a speech that served as a bittersweet farewell and a political testament. “America, I gave my best to you. I made a lot of mistakes in my career, but I gave my best to you,” the president said.

After being introduced by his daughter Ashley, it was five minutes before Biden was able to begin his speech. He was prevented from doing so by the applause and cheers from the audience: “We love you, Joe,” and “Thank you, Joe,” chanted the thousands of delegates and guests who packed the United Center, the home of the Chicago Bulls, where the convention is being held. The gratitude held double meaning: for the president’s half-century of dedication, but also for his retirement.

The communion between Biden and the delegates served as an emotional suture for the wound opened by his withdrawal from the presidential race. “I love the job, but I love my country more,” Biden said. “All this talk about how I’m angry at all the people who said I should step down — that’s not true,” he added. “I remember being too young to be in the Senate because I wasn’t 30 yet, and too old to stay as President. But I hope you know how grateful I am to all of you.”

That Biden is passing the baton to his vice president also makes things easier. “Selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made when I became the nominee,” Biden said. “It was the best decision I made in my whole career. She is tough, she is experienced, and she has enormous integrity. Her story represents the best American story.” Like many of our best presidents, she was also vice president.” In a nod to his own career that drew cheers from the audience, Biden added: “And like many of our best presidents, she’s also been vice president.”

Biden’s speech reviewed the accomplishments of his tenure and endorsed Harris as the inheritor of his legacy, but it was also devoted to warning of the existential threat he sees in a possible Trump comeback. “We saved democracy in 2020 and we must do it again in 2024,” he said. “We need to preserve our democracy. We need you to beat Donald Trump and elect Kamala and Tim as President and Vice President of the United States.”

Biden reiterated his love for his country and counterposed it to how he views Trump’s attitude: “You cannot say you love your country only when you win,” he argued. “He says we’re losing. He’s the loser — he’s dead wrong,” he exclaimed in response to Trump’s campaign slogan that America is a “failing nation” under the Democratic administration. “Crime will keep coming down when we put a prosecutor in the Oval Office, rather than a convicted felon,” Biden said in another attack on his political rival.

Biden put in an energetic performance on the stage in Chicago, more reminiscent of when he delivered the State of the Union address in March than during the disastrous debate against Trump in June, which led Democrats to question whether the 81-year-old president would be able to defeat the Republican again at the polls. He spoke for about 45 minutes, often raising his voice, and with little hesitation.

Biden’s speech, in fact, was largely an anthology of previous ones. The president likes to hammer home soundbites and catchphrases he considers accurate. “Wall Street didn’t build this country. The middle class built this country. And unions built the middle class,” was one of many. “Donald Trump promised infrastructure every week for four years and he never built a damn thing,” another. “We’re facing an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history where the decisions we make now will determine the world for decades to come,” he insisted, as he has many times before. He also reiterated his idea that a “battle for the soul of the nation” is being waged.

The president touted the accomplishments of his administration, including its management of the coronavirus pandemic, economic recovery, record job creation, lower drug prices, infrastructure investments, and the boost to microprocessor plants. He also defended his foreign policy, especially regarding his response to the war in Ukraine. “Putin thought he would take Kyiv in three days. Three years later, Ukraine is still free.” Trump, he asserted, bows to Putin; “Kamala Harris never will.” Biden also emphasized the need to “end the Gaza war” and even acknowledged that those protesting against the conflict in Chicago have their reasons. During his speech, there was low-key protest from some delegates over his support for Israel.

A devoted audience

Surrounded by his family and political allies, Biden received the affection of a dedicated audience in his fleeting passage through a convention at which he is not the main event. Although most of the delegates were chosen in the primaries to nominate him, now the Democratic Party has become Kamala Harris’ party.

The Democratic nominee herself led the show of gratitude to the president with a surprise appearance at the first session of the convention. To the beat of Beyoncé's song Freedom, which has become her campaign anthem, Harris skipped the program to appear on stage Monday afternoon. “This is going to be a great week. I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible President Joe Biden... Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do, we are forever grateful to you,” Harris said to thunderous applause, a couple of hours before Biden’s speech. After the president’s intervention, she joined her husband, Douglas Emhoff, on stage to thank Biden for his words.

Earlier, many of the speakers also thanked the president. Among them was former secretary of state Hillary Clinton: “Let’s salute President Biden. He has been democracy’s champion at home and abroad. He brought dignity, decency, and confidence back to the White House, and he showed what it means to be a true patriot. Thank you, Joe Biden, for your lifetime of service and leadership.”

The first lady also participated in the farewell. Jill Biden, who tried to lift the president’s spirits after his disastrous June 27 debate against Trump and tried to keep him from throwing in the towel, and their daughter Ashley, 43, expounded on Biden’s human side to round out the tribute. Jill said she fell in love with him again just a few weeks ago, when she saw him “dig deep into his soul and decide to no longer seek re-election and support Kamala Harris,” a line greeted with a standing ovation.

Mother and daughter also took the opportunity to campaign for Harris and her running mate, Tim Walz. Ashley’s declaration of love moved the president to tears. In addition to his wife and daughter, his son Hunter and six of his grandchildren were also in Chicago.

The farewell air of the speech was accentuated as Biden repeated some of the lyrics from American Anthem, the Gene Scheer song he had quoted at his inauguration on January 20, 2021. “Let me know in my heart, when my days are through, America, America, I gave my best to you,” Biden said, a phrase that takes on greater meaning at the end of his political career.

The red, white and blue balloons are already set up in the rafters the United Center. When they drop on Thursday, it will be to celebrate the nomination of Kamala Harris. By then, Biden will be in Santa Ynez, California, some 2,000 miles away, to spend a few days with his family after his last great service to the Democratic Party.

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