He gave a rare Oval Office address to the nation, explaining why he dropped out of the presidential race.
Last updated: Thursday, July 25, 2024 1:56AM GMT
President Joe Biden addressed the nation Wednesday for the first time since dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.
During a rare Oval Office address to the nation, President Joe Biden said it's best to pass the "torch to a new generation."
"The defense of democracy is more important than any title," Biden said. "Nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. And that includes personal ambition."
Said Biden, "I revere this office, but I love my country more."
In his address, he explained why he dropped out of the presidential race and outlined what he hopes to do in his remaining six months in office.
In the meantime, Vice President Kamala Harris is pushing ahead with campaigning for president days after Biden's decision.
With enough delegates secured to become the presumptive Democratic nominee if they keep to their pledges, Harris has held her first campaign rallies. At his first rally since Biden's announcement, Donald Trump attacked Harris while talking to voters in South Carolina.
Biden delivers prime-time address on decision to exit 2024 race
Watch the video player below for the president's full remarks.
President Joe Biden, in a rare Oval Office address to the nation, spoke extensively for the first time on his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race.
Jul 23, 2024, 6:15 PM
Who's endorsed Kamala Harris and who hasn't?
Click here for a list of the current Democrats who support her, and a few notable figures who haven't yet.
ByFritz Farrow, Gabriella Abdul-Hakim and Will McDuffie
Jul 23, 2024, 9:31 AM GMT
Harris raises $100 million, campaign says
Vice President Kamala Harris has raised $100 million since entering the race for president on Sunday, according to her campaign.
The massive haul was raised between Sunday afternoon --when President Joe Biden announced he would step down from the ticket-and Monday evening, the Harris campaign said. The Democratic National Committee and its joint fundraising committees raised the money, the campaign said.
About 58,000 people also signed up to volunteer for the vice president's campaign, a figure that is more than 100 times its average daily signup rate, according to the campaign.
Jul 23, 2024, 2:27 AM GMT
Kamala Harris secures enough delegates to become presumptive Democratic nominee
Vice President Kamala Harris has secured commitments from enough delegates to win the nomination if they all honor their commitment when voting, according to ABC News reporting, making her the presumptive Democratic nominee.
Kamala Harris addresses her supporters at a campaign event in Delaware on Monday.
Jul 22, 2024, 11:46 PM GMT
Democrats plan to push ahead with virtual roll call ahead of their convention, with Harris favored
The Democratic Party plans to push forward with a virtual roll call in which delegates to its convention can choose its presidential nominee before they meet in person for next month in Chicago.
Vice President Kamala Harris is heavily favored now that President Joe Biden has abandoned his reelection bid.
The convention rules committee will meet Wednesday to approve how the virtual roll call will work, but a draft of what they are set to approve was obtained Monday by The Associated Press.
It does not list a date for when the roll call will take place, but Democratic National Committee Chair Jaime Harrison said the process will be completed by Aug. 7.
ByBeatrice Peterson and Max Zahn
Jul 22, 2024, 11:18 PM GMT
AFL-CIO unanimously endorses Kamala Harris for president
The American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations has thrown its unanimous support behind Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential race.
"From day one, Vice President Kamala Harris has been a true partner in leading the most pro-labor administration in history," AFL-CIO President Liz Shuler wrote in a statement Monday.
Kamala Harris talks to a union leader while she walks a picket line with striking UAW members, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2019 at a General Motors facility just north of Reno, Nev.
"At every step in her distinguished career in public office, she's proven herself a principled and tenacious fighter for working people and a visionary leader we can count on," Shuler continued.
"From taking on Wall Street and corporate greed to leading efforts to expand affordable child care and support vulnerable workers, she's shown time and again that she's on our side. With Kamala Harris in the White House, together we'll continue to build on the powerful legacy of the Biden-Harris administration to create good union jobs, grow the labor movement and make our economy work for all of us," she added.
The support for Harris' campaign comes as some of the nation's largest unions also have offered support, praise and outright endorsements to the vice president.
The Service Employees International Union, whose 2 million members make it the nation's largest private sector union, endorsed Harris on Sunday. So did Local 3000 of the United Food and Commercial Workers, a labor organization in the Pacific Northwest, which drew attention last week when it became the only Biden-aligned union to call for him to step aside.
