The shock of Biden’s defection has begun to settle among his supporters. From the ashes of his candidacy, an enthusiasm and record-breaking mobilization around Kamala Harris has emerged. I watched Biden’s speech at the home of three of his staunchest supporters in a suburb of Detroit, Michigan.
They sighed in pity every time Joe Biden said that serving the country as president had been the greatest privilege of his life. One of them cried. They described Biden as calm, collected, statesmanlike. It was he. But there was also something else.
US election 2024
Biden’s address to the nation: “Passing the torch”
The video from the body camera shows the time after the assassination attempt on Trump
“You know,” Biden said, betting. “In recent weeks it has dawned on me that I need to unite my party in our important endeavour.”
Biden never mentions whether his health contributed to the decision but says that “there is a time for new voices, younger voices, and that time is now.”
He won’t say it himself, but he is said to have been under enormous pressure from leading Democrats who showed him polls to convince him he couldn’t win. Former speaker Nancy Pelosi is said to have given Biden three weeks to step down before it would happen “the hard way”.
“I believe that what I have achieved as president, my leadership in the world and my vision for the future of the United States have made me deserving of a second term. But nothing, nothing must stand in the way of saving our democracy, personal ambitions included,” Biden continued. A defiant statement that seems to reflect accusations from the Republican side that Kamala Harris was undemocratically couped.
The speech was carefully worded. According to Biden and the Democrats, “saving our democracy” is about keeping Donald Trump out of the White House. But between the lines, it’s clear that Biden still believes he could have won the election. There it oozes with “Biden-esque” anger that he was forced out.
Even the women of Detroit believe he was persuaded to drop out, perhaps far too late. But tonight they’d rather talk about the future. The one without Joe Biden.