In a historic speech, the first of its kind in more than 56 years, President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office Wednesday night, explaining why he will not seek a second term.
“I revere this office, but I love my country more,” Biden said. “Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition.”
He said it has “been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years.” But, in the only time that he alluded to his age as being the possible reason he is stepping away from the race, Biden said it was time to “pass the torch.” He said, “There’s also a time and a place for new voices. Fresh voices. Yes, younger voices.”
He spoke for 11 minutes, but his words carried a powerful message that was of stark contrast to Donald Trump, even though he never mentioned Trump by name. Biden also threw his full support behind Vice President Kamala Harris.
All three major networks — ABC, CBS and NBC, as well as PBS — preempted regular programming to carry Biden’s remarks. They brought in the evening news anchors — David Muir (ABC), Norah O’Donnell (CBS) and Lester Holt (NBC) — to oversee the coverage.
The cable networks — CNN, Fox News and MSNBC — also had special coverage, although Fox News quickly cut back to its regularly scheduled program hosted by Jesse Watters (Watters did talk about Biden’s speech).
CNN and MSNBC, however, had full special coverage with big panels. CNN had what felt like a cast of thousands with the coverage being anchored by Anderson Cooper, Jake Tapper and Kaitlan Collins. The most powerful moments in the immediate aftermath came from CNN.
An emotional Van Jones said, “He asked the question does character still matter? Well, it does tonight. It does tonight. The kid with a stutter did good. He did good. He’s a good man. He fell on the sword. Most heroes, they fight till the bitter end. He fell on his sword. He’s an old guy, but the heart is still there. The words aren’t as clear, but the love is as clear. The heart is still there.”
Jones then said, “I think people need to look at this because we had somebody sit in that chair and he wouldn’t give up power no matter what. Wouldn’t give up power, let there be an insurrection, wouldn’t get out of that chair! Even when people voted him to get out of that chair, he wouldn’t get out of that chair. And you got somebody (now) sitting in that same chair, showing that character does matter, showing you can have grace, you can put the people first. You can pass the baton. And you’re a bigger person for it.”
Jones finished with, “You got two examples now of what men with power will do, how they act at the end. You couldn’t act any better than Joe Biden. That kid with the stutter grew up, did a great job for this country and did a great job tonight.”
CNN’s David Axelrod added, “I think history will look kindly on Joe Biden. I think people will look differently at him tomorrow than they did a week ago. And they will maybe see his achievements and his commitment to this country more clearly.”
Axelrod also said Biden had a clear message, saying, “No one is bigger than this country. I think that is a very different message that has been emanating from Donald Trump almost from the beginning, which is, ‘The country is me. I am bigger than the country.’ I think that the contrast is very striking.”
CBS News correspondent John Dickerson talked about Biden referring to himself as the kid with a stutter, by saying, “You have the most powerful man in the world suddenly shrinking himself to a little kid as a way to tell the story of the promise of America, that no matter what your beginnings you can end up in the Oval Office. Some soaring rhetoric for a president not known for that kind of rhetoric.”
Another topic that was to surely come up was Biden’s performance — how did he sound, how did he look?
Biden certainly is not as vibrant as he once was. Particularly notable, starting with the debate, is that Biden doesn’t look nearly as strong as he did as recently as, say, the State of the Union address in March. And there have been enough appearances that it feels safe to say Biden is not going to be that energetic again. The New York Times’ Michael D. Shear described Biden as speaking “haltingly” during his speech Wednesday night.
But he still seems sharp enough to run the country.
MSNBC’s Stephanie Ruhle said Biden’s speech should silence those who ask how Biden can drop out of the race and yet continue to be president and finish out his term. She said, “He gave that speech as the commander in chief and there is no one who watched that who thinks, ‘He can’t possibly see out the rest of his term.’”
And MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow said, “His voice may be faltering, his delivery may not be as strong as we remember it even at the beginning of this term — the presidency takes a toll, and he's the oldest man to ever have the job, and he had this job at the time of incredible challenges — but his vision is clear.”
Over the next few days, media and political types will continue to review Biden’s speech, both in what he said and how he said it. Their political leanings likely will shape those reviews.
But remember the date: July 24, 2024. History was made.
NBC News’ Kristen Welker said, “This was a speech for the history books, just as when LBJ announced he wasn't going to run for reelection in 1968 and we have seen those clips played and replayed throughout time. This is the type of speech that will be replayed for decades to come.”
A new debate date?
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump agreed to two debates. One was June 27, hosted by CNN. We all know how that one turned out. The next was supposed to be Sept. 10, hosted by ABC News.
But then Biden dropped out of the race and Trump started making noise about not wanting to participate in a debate hosted by ABC News. He said he is willing to debate Harris, but also has said he would prefer that Fox News host a debate.
Fox News jumped on that. The network reportedly sent a letter to the Trump and Harris camps that proposed a debate in the swing state of Pennsylvania. It would be held on Sept. 17. The letter said the exact date, location and whether there would be an audience are open to negotiation.
Reports are that the letter was signed by Fox News Media president Jay Wallace and vice president of politics Jessica Loker. They suggested that hosts Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum would be the “best choices” to moderate.
As of Wednesday night, neither the Trump nor Harris camps have responded to requests for comment
Fair question
