President Joe Biden, in the final week of his term, delivered a farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday night. He is preparing to pass the baton to President-Elect Donald Trump next Tuesday.
Biden’s presidency has been plagued by high inflation, conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, and a re-election campaign he was forced out of due to concerns about his age and capability. This led the Democratic Party leadership to replace him on the ticket with Vice President Kamala Harris.
As Biden readies himself to relinquish power to Trump, a man he pledged to move on from four years ago and whom he has labelled as a threat to the country’s democratic institutions, he will deliver a prime-time farewell from the Oval Office next week.
His speech comes amidst a hard-won ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, a conflict that has been ongoing since the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas on Israel. His Wednesday night speech marked not only the end of Biden’s presidency but also his five-decade-long political career. Once the youngest senator in the country at 30, he was elected to represent his home state of Delaware in 1972.
Biden sought the presidency in 1988 and 2008 before becoming Barack Obama’s vice president. After serving two terms, Biden was thought to have retired from politics. However, he returned to the limelight as the unexpected Democratic nominee in 2020, successfully removing Trump from the White House, reports the Mirror US.
In a candid admission within an open letter released on Wednesday morning, President Biden conceded that his presidential promises are yet to be fully realised. “I ran for president because I believed that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake. And, that’s still the case.”
The remainder of his letter, however, highlighted his achievements, such as leading the nation through the coronavirus pandemic, bolstering domestic manufacturing, and capping prescription drug prices.
He said: “Nowhere else on Earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States. I have given my heart and my soul to our nation. And I have been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people.”