Biden explains his decision not to run for re-election: “Nothing can stand in the way of saving democracy”

US President Joe Biden said on Wednesday, July 24, that the “Personal ambition” could not come before “saving” American democracy, in what are his first statements to explain the decision to end his re-election campaign.

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“I believe that my record as president, my leadership in the world, and my vision for the future of America, Everything would justify a second term, but nothing can stand in the way of saving our democracy. “That includes personal ambition,” the president said in a speech to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House.

In the speech, which lasted 11 minutes, Biden said that The United States is at a “tipping point,” a recurring phrase in his speeches, and that in recent weeks it became clear to him that he had to “unite” the Democratic Party.

This was the first time Biden appeared since last Sunday, July 21, 2024, in a letter addressed to the American people, announced that he was ending his campaign for re-election in the November 5 elections.

Shortly after making that letter public, In a message on X, the president asked for a vote for the American vice president, Kamala Harris, who has already secured the necessary support to be the Democratic candidate and face former president and Republican candidate, Donald Trump, at the polls.

Joe Biden, first candidate to withdraw so close to presidential elections

Never before has a presidential candidate dropped out of the race so close to the election. President Lyndon Johnson (1963-1969) announced in March 1968 that he would not seek re-election, but he did so when the party primaries had just begun.

Biden’s decision came with the primaries already over and just over three months before the elections.

Dozens of members of Congress and leading figures in the Democratic Party, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, They pressured Biden for weeks to end his presidential campaign after a disastrous performance in the debate against Trump on June 27.

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