After spending days out of the public eye, President Joe Biden finally made an appearance Wednesday evening from the Oval Office, where he addressed the nation for the first time since he announced he would be dropping out of the 2024 presidential race in favor of his vice president, Kamala Harris.
Calls for Biden to abdicate his candidacy had intensified from both sides of the political aisle since his poor debate performance last month led many to question his fitness for the job. Biden remained confident in his intentions to run even a few days before his campaign resignation letter was posted to X last Sunday. Now, he's putting his support behind Harris as he plans to finish the remaining months of his term.
"I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, our vision for America's future, all merited a second term, but nothing, nothing, can come in the way of saving our democracy," he said during his address Wednesday. "That includes personal ambition. So I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation."
During his speech Wednesday, Biden was expected to explain his reasons for dropping out of the race. Instead, he took 11 minutes to reflect on his accomplishments and promote his Democrat agenda, which drew criticism from Alabama's political leaders.
"President Biden's address was more of a primetime campaign speech filled with the same rhetoric we've heard for the past three and a half years. And he says we will get six more months of the same," U.S. Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-Haleyville) said on X.
"President Biden appeared and told us there is going to be six more months of high inflation, high prices, more illegal border crossings and weakness on the world stage," he added. "And he says Kamala Harris is prepared to extend that out another four years."
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville) said, "Tonight, President Biden promised to continue pushing the nation in a direction it doesn't want to go, resolving to push forward his plan to remake the Supreme Court, simply because it stands in their way. The Biden/Harris Administration has failed on the economy; failed to secure our southern border and has failed to keep America safe. Kamala' Border Czar' Harris has presided over the worst border crisis this nation has ever seen. Her policies will be just as bad for the country as Joe Biden's, if not worse. The United States simply cannot afford four more years of these disastrous policies."
U.S. Rep. Gary Palmer (R-Hoover) criticized Biden's comments about lowering illegal border crossings under his regime.
"The Biden Administration has allowed and encouraged millions of illegal immigrants to enter our country," he said. "As long as Biden and Harris are in charge, our borders are NOT secure."
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