President Joe Biden’s address to the Democratic convention late Monday night began with tears and a profession of love for his children and wife (his heart still goes “boom, boom, boom” when he sees her walk down the stairs, he said). What followed was a forceful summation of his rise to the presidency, a defense of his record and his own framing of his decision to end his political career after 50 years.
Unlike every other speech of the night, Biden’s was not explicitly about the Harris-Walz ticket. Rather, this was his time to define a legacy.
The president’s address — notably on the first night of the convention instead of the last, and running well past midnight on the East Coast — pulled from some of Biden’s most iconic speeches of the last five years: from when he denounced the neo-Nazis who marched in Charlottesville, to his 2022 Philadelphia address about the battle for the soul of the nation.
On Monday night, he declared democracy saved. The new fight: preserving it.
“We’re in a battle for the very soul of America,” he said to cheers, not for the first time. “We came together in 2020 to save democracy.”
“I believed then and I believe now that progress was and is possible, justice is achievable and our best days are not behind us. They’re before us,” he said.
Biden had an awkward job Monday night. After deciding to end his reelection bid in late July, following pressure from other Democrats, he endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris and had to become her cheerleader for the job he had wanted to keep.
The night — featuring speeches from rising members of Congress, future possible Democratic leaders and union chiefs — was mostly not about Biden. Until the end of the night, as his speech approached, there was little mention of him outside of occasional thank-yous.
“Joe, thank you for your historic leadership,” Harris said as she kicked off the prime-time speeches with a short surprise address. “For your lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you.”
“Let’s salute President Biden,” Hillary Clinton said in her own speech to the convention. “He has been democracy’s champion at home and abroad. He brought dignity, decency and confidence back to the White House, and he showed what it means to be a true patriot. Thank you, Joe Biden, for your lifetime of service and leadership.”
When he got to speak, well beyond the originally scheduled time, he sought to explain what exactly the thank-yous were for.
Biden’s speech detailed achievements like student debt relief and the Build Back Better plan, with a focus on the middle class. He referenced extremism, like in Charlottesville and on Jan. 6, and painted a picture of progress, frequently juxtaposing his positions with Trump’s, with key themes around moving the country beyond his predecessor’s presidency. He discussed the pandemic, the stabilizing economy after record-high inflation and joining the autoworkers’ picket line in Michigan.
He also repeatedly brought attention to his role in elevating women, including nominating the first Black woman to the Supreme Court, before leading to his decision to endorse Harris to succeed him. Before he spoke, his daughter Ashley introduced him, in part, as “the OG girl dad.”
At one point, Biden even raised the prospect of a coming cease-fire in Gaza, in a war that has shadowed the last months of his presidency. And throughout, he relied on his background as a “kid with a stutter” from a working-class family in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and frequently drew back these achievements to how they impact families like his.
“I could not stay on the sidelines,” he said. “As your president, I’ve been determined to keep America moving forward, not going back.”
And he also, at times, took a step to include Harris in his successes.
“Because of you, we’ve had one of the most extraordinary four years of progress ever, period,” he said. “When I say we, I mean Kamala and me.”
The crowd and the establishment Democrats were wildly supportive. Though people in the crowd were instructed to hold their “Thank you, Joe” signs until the end as a “send-off,” Biden had to stop his speech multiple times, interrupted by booming chants. Biden himself was clearly feeling the energy, shaking his fist at Trump several times, performing better than he did during his last few high-profile speeches.
During one misstep in his speech, one attendee said that “It’s OK, Joe,” and “We love Joe” chants broke out.
But it was also clear that it was time to pass the torch, even in speeches from his closest political allies.
“For President Biden’s lifetime of achievement, his service to his country, we owe him a great debt of gratitude,” Rep. Jim Clyburn said. “And we’re all grateful for one of the best decisions he made: selecting Kamala Harris as his vice president and endorsing her to succeed him.”
“Mr. President, thank you,” Sen. Chris Coons said. “Thank you for elevating a great leader in Kamala Harris.”
Travis Williams, the executive director for the Delaware Democratic Party, told NOTUS it wasn’t a bittersweet night.
“There were some folks in Delaware who were sad to see the president step aside, but I think time since then has come to terms with the fact that he didn’t step down — he stepped up,” Williams said.
Biden, Williams said, gave his loyal delegates a chance to “send him off into the sunset and say farewell, and honor his legacy.”
“I helped Joe Biden get elected,” Martin Willis, a union member from the Delaware delegation, told NOTUS on Monday night, naming Biden as a man his family has known since the ’60s. “I’m very proud of my president, I’m very proud of Joe. We love Joe Biden.”
Biden made only a brief nod to his resignation as candidate.
“I’ve got five months left in my presidency. I’ve got a lot to do, and I’m gonna get it done,” he said. “It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more.”
While most of the president’s speech focused on his legacy, he made clear he’d be supporting Harris.
“I promise I’ll be the best volunteer Harris and Walz’s camp have ever seen,” he said.
He closed his speech on a song he said his family loves, “American Anthem.”
“America, I gave my best to you,” he quoted.
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Casey Murray is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow. Jasmine Wright contributed reporting from Chicago.