CHICAGO — A month ago this was going to be President Joe Biden‘s renominating convention.
But four weeks later Biden finally became the “bridge” to future party leaders that he pledged to be during the 2020 Democratic primary, underscoring his record while encouraging the country to vote for his vice president and political rival that election cycle, Kamala Harris, during his address Monday at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Biden’s convention swansong was a 50-minute address that hit familiar notes about the importance of democracy and the potency of his partnership with Harris, with the vice president watching on in the United Center and joining him on stage with his family at his speech’s conclusion.
“Are you ready to vote for freedom? Are you ready to vote for democracy? Are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz?” Biden asked the crowd Monday night after becoming emotional and a roughly five-minute standing ovation amid chants of “Thank you, Joe!”
“It’s been an honor of a lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more,” he said, going on to quote the “American Anthem” line “America, America, I gave my best to you.”
“We need to preserve our democracy. In 2024, we need you to vote. We need you to keep the Senate. We need you to win back the House of Representatives. And above all, we need you to beat Donald Trump.”
With the convention’s opening day’s proceedings disrupted by pro-Gaza protesters, an attempt by demonstrators to unfurl a “Stop Arming Israel” banner was covered up by “We love, Joe!” signs.
“Those protestors out in the street, they have a point,” Biden said. “A lot of innocent people are being killed on both sides.”
Biden’s address, drafted by presidential senior adviser Mike Donilon and White House director of speechwriting Vinay Reddy, defended his record, including on the economy and the border, policies and positions that have created political problems for Harris. A White House aide told the Washington Examiner that Biden’s “desire” with his address was “to make a strong case for Harris… and hand off the convention to them, which all week will continue to highlight the Biden-Harris record.”
“Because of you, we’ve had one of the most extraordinary four years of progress ever, period. And when I say ‘we,’ I mean Kamala and me,” Biden said Monday. “Yes, we both know we have more to do, but we’re moving in the right direction.”
But with reports of unease between Biden and other Democratic leaders, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), over the pressure he came under to step down, the party tried to keep up appearances and demonstrate deference to the president who is determined not to be a lame duck for the remainder of his term. Pelosi was in the front row for his convention address on Monday.
‘He’s a man I respect’
Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN), who challenged Biden during this year’s Democratic primary, acknowledged on the convention floor Monday night it must be a “difficult,” “bittersweet night” for Biden, particularly after a 50-year career in public service.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re red or blue, you’re human,” Phillips told the Washington Examiner. “I’ve said to many people it’s about how this entire audience makes him feel because he did something that’s really rare in history, which is to give up power.”
“He’s a man I respect,” he said. “But to see what has transpired because of that decision, no matter one’s politics, there’s been a dramatic change in energy and optimism, and we’ve gone from what would have been a funeral to something that seems like a little bit of a rebirth. So I guess that I was a little bit of a doula.”
Gov. Josh Shapiro (D-PA), who was on Harris’ vice presidential shortlist before she selected Walz, Minnesota’s governor, and reportedly has presidential aspirations of his own, downplayed the idea that there was any awkwardness with Biden addressing many of the same Democrats who implored him to step down.
“I think people are excited to hear from President Biden,” Shapiro told the Washington Examiner outside the Democratic National Committee‘s Labor Council meeting Monday afternoon. “I certainly am. I think it’s important to hear about his legacy of leadership and patriotism, and for him to pass the torch to the next generation of leaders, as you know he is going to do tonight with Kamala Harris.”
Biden himself dismissed Trump’s complaints about a “Democratic coup” over Harris’s nomination and called Trump’s “stability” into “question.” The president also said he is ready to stand aside.
Throughout the day, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) applauded Biden as “a great American” and had those in attendance at his events chanting, “Thank you, Joe!” Schumer traveled to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware the weekend before Biden’s decision to impress upon him the damage he could have down ballot if he remained in the race.
“Joe Biden, what an amazing man he has been,” Schumer told reporters at the New York delegation breakfast. “He’s been my friend since we worked on the, I carried the Brady Bill and the assault weapons ban in the House as a young congressman, he carried it in the Senate. We’ve been good friends since then, and he did the right thing for America.”
“He did the right thing for the country, and he will be known as one of the great presidents that we’ve ever had,” he said. “We love him, we respect him, and we can’t wait to hug him, either literally or figuratively tonight.”
Handing the torch to the next generation
Afterward, at the Wisconsin delegation breakfast down the hall in the same downtown hotel, Gov. Tony Evers (D-WI) described Biden’s decision to step down as an “amazing thing” to witness.
“It was this moment where somebody handed the torch to another generation,” Evers told the Washington Examiner.
Wisconsin Democratic Party Chairman Ben Wikler added in a later interview that there is “tremendous gratitude” toward Biden.
“For the president, in the final chapters of the most successful first terms of any American president, to decide to put the country ahead of himself and maximize the chance of the continued flourishing of American democracy by passing the torch to his own vice president, it inspires a deep sense of appreciation and gratitude, some tears I’m sure, in the convention hall tonight — but also a sense that this is bigger than any of us and we have a president who’s big enough to recognize that,” Wikler said.
Wisconsin delegate Linda Norton, 75, was adamant there were “no negative feelings” about Harris’ nomination, which circumvented a traditional primary process. After all, Harris now has a 1.5 percentage point advantage over Trump nationwide, according to RealClearPolitics.
“It’s the most unselfish, patriotic decision anyone could have made,” the Eau Claire retired clinician and first-time convention-goer told the Washington Examiner. “We’re excited as can be. We praise him for what he did. Not everybody would do that.”
Joe Biden spoke after his wife, first lady Jill Biden, their daughter Ashley, and former Secretary of State and 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, with the first night of the convention being bookended by addresses from one party standard-bearer who prevailed over former President Donald Trump and another who did not, both looking toward Harris for the future.
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“This is going to be a great week, and I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible President Joe Biden,” Harris said Monday during a surprise appearance on stage earlier in the night. “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. I thank you.”
