CHICAGO – In what could also be one of many final main speeches of his decades-long political profession, President Biden on Monday night time handed the reins of the celebration to Vice President Kamala Harris as he spotlighted their administration’s accomplishments over the previous three and a half years.
Talking in entrance of a jam-packed United Area, website of the Democratic Nationwide Conference, the president declared “America, I gave my best to you,” as the gang of celebration officers and delegates, activists, and supporters repeatedly gave Biden sustained ovations and chants of “thank you, Joe.”
Praising his vp, Biden mentioned that “selecting Kamala was the very first decision I made before I became when I became our nominee, and it was the best decision I made my whole career.”
“She’s tough, she’s experienced, and she has enormous integrity, enormous integrity. Her story represents the best American story,” the president highlighted.
CLICK HERE FOR FOX NEWS UPDATES FROM THE DEMOCRATIC CONVENTION
U.S. President Joe Biden stands onstage throughout Day 1 of the Democratic Nationwide Conference (DNC) on the United Middle, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 19, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Segar)
And he requested the gang are “you are ready to vote for freedom. Are you ready to vote for democracy and for America? Let me ask you, are you ready to elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, President and Vice President of the United States.”
Biden repeatedly took intention at former President Trump and the threats he mentioned the Republican presidential nominee posed to America’s democracy and worldwide alliances. And seeking to his vp and her working mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, he pledged to be “the best volunteer Harris and Walz have ever seen.”
HARRIS PROPOSES MAJOR CORPORATE TAX HIKE, TO REVERSE TRUMP ERA TAX CUTS
Harris and Walz and their spouses, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff and Minnesota First Woman Gwen Walz, joined the president, First Woman Jill Biden and their household, on the podium following Biden’s deal with, in a transparent signal of celebration unity.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, left, clasps her hand within the air with President Joe Biden on the Democratic Nationwide Conference, Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photograph/Jacquelyn Martin) (AP Photograph/Jacquelyn Martin)
The president’s speech got here 4 weeks and in the future after his blockbuster announcement that he was ending his personal White Home bid and endorsing his vp to exchange him on the celebration’s 2024 ticket within the election showdown towards former President Trump.
Biden’s disastrous efficiency towards Trump of their late June debate fueled questions over whether or not the 81-year-old president had the bodily and psychological skills to deal with one other 4 years within the White Home and sparked a refrain of calls from inside his personal celebration to finish his 2024 marketing campaign.
Biden ultimately caved to the stress, saying the suspension of his re-election marketing campaign three days after the Republican Nationwide Conference ended with a solidified GOP ticket of Trump and working mate, Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
Biden spoke in entrance of a crowd that included loads of politicians who publicly urged or maneuvered behind the scenes for the president to drop out of the race, as his assist in public opinion polls started to fade following his debate showdown with Trump.
As President Biden speaks on the Democratic Nationwide Conference, “We Love Joe” indicators fill the United Area, in Chicago, Illinois on August 19, 2024 (Fox Information – Paul Steinhauser)
Since Harris succeeded Biden, the vp has been using a wave of vitality, with a soar in polling and fundraising because the battle with Trump is as soon as once more a margin-of-error race.
As Harris has surged, Trump has more and more attacked the Democrats for what he charged was “a vicious COUP” towards Biden.
“Crooked Joe Biden was told, “Sorry Joe, you’re shedding to Trump, BIG, and you may’t beat him – You’re Fired,” the former president claimed Monday in a social media post.
But Biden in his speech aimed to dispel any notion that he was angry about changing course and giving up his bid for a second term in the White House.
“You see, it’s been the honour of my lifetime to function your president. I like the job, however I like my nation extra,” Biden said. “And all this discuss how I’m indignant [at] all these individuals who mentioned I ought to step down — that’s not true.”
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
U.S. President Joe Biden reacts as he joins his daughter Ashley onstage during Day one of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., August 19, 2024. (REUTERS/Brendan Mcdermid)
With five months left in his presidency, the speech was not billed as a farewell address, but it did in some ways have the feeling of a swan song, as he touted his administration’s accomplishments.
But Biden also pointed to the work he has left – including supporting Ukraine in its war against Russia and securing a cease-fire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas to end the deadly war in Gaza.
Outside the security zone surrounding the arena, anti-Israeli protesters marched throughout the day. And inside the United Center, a small group of delegates protesting Biden’s handling of the war briefly held up a banner that read “cease arming Israel.” But delegates quickly blocked them with “We Love Joe” signs and drowned them out.
At one point, pointing to the rising death toll, Biden said the “protesters have some extent.”
Speaking minutes before Biden at the convention podium was former Secretary of State, former senator, and former first lady Hillary Clinton, the Democrats’ 2016 presidential nominee.
Clinton, in her speech, blasted Trump, praised Biden, and said that Harris has the “character, expertise and imaginative and prescient to guide us ahead.”
The speeches by Clinton and Biden – the party’s two previous standard-bearers – symbolized how the Democrats old guard was passing the torch to a younger generation.
Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris gestures onstage before speaking during the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)
Harris, in a brief surprise appearance from the podium earlier in the evening, praised her boss.
“I need to kick us off by celebrating our unimaginable president,” she emphasized. “Joe, thanks to your historic management, to your lifetime of service to our nation, and for all you’ll proceed to do. We’re perpetually grateful to you.”
