‘Pass the torch’: Biden says he stepped aside to protect democracy

President Biden said Wednesday that he ended his reelection campaign to unite the nation in opposition to the threat former President Donald Trump poses to democracy.

“I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America’s future all merit a second term. But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition,” Mr. Biden said in a rare Oval Office address.

“So I decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. It’s the best way to unite our nation,” he said.

Mr. Biden did not explicitly explain why he needed to drop out of the presidential race. He announced his decision on Sunday in a social media post and soon afterward endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his late-in-the-campaign replacement.

He promised to explain his decision to leave the race in Wednesday’s Oval Office address.

In the speech, Mr. Biden did not mention Mr. Trump by name, but the president made it clear that he views his predecessor as a grave threat to democracy.

“I revere this office. But I love my country more. It’s the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in defense of democracy, which is at stake and is more important than any other title, I draw strength and find joy in working for the American people,” Mr. Biden said. He added that the “sacred task” of protecting the nation lies with “We the People.” 

The president said Americans will have many choices this election season, and he urged unity even as he brandished his political opponent as anti-democratic.

“In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies, but as fellow Americans. … I believe I know the answers to these questions because I know you, the American people,” he said.

Mr. Trump savaged the speech on social media, saying it was “barely understandable and soooo bad.” He also called Mr. Biden an “embarrassment.”

Chris LaCivita, a Trump strategist, said the campaign’s attorneys would send a letter to networks that carried the speech demanding equal time because it amounted to a campaign speech. 

Mr. Biden’s remarks were his first on camera since his shocking decision to drop out of the presidential race. He said little about it while hunkered down at his vacation home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he was recovering from COVID-19.

The president faced enormous pressure from Democratic allies, billionaire donors and major media outlets to step aside after his devastating debate performance last month against Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. Mr. Biden struggled to give coherent answers and often lost his train of thought. He sometimes stared vacantly.

His performance also rekindled concerns that Mr. Biden’s cognitive abilities had slipped, setting off an intense Democratic campaign to push him aside in hopes of nominating a candidate who could defeat Mr. Trump.

Earlier Wednesday, the White House insisted that Mr. Biden’s decision not to seek reelection had nothing to do with his health and that officials had not hidden Mr. Biden’s decline from the public.

“There’s been no cover-up, I want to be very clear about that,” said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.

At 81, Mr. Biden is the oldest U.S. president and would have been 86 at the end of a second term.

Concerns about Mr. Biden’s age and mental acuity dogged him even before the debate. In February, special counsel Robert Hur authored a report detailing the president’s mishandling of classified documents, saying Mr. Biden struggled to remember when his son Beau Biden died or events from his vice presidency.

Mr. Hur said he would not recommend criminal charges against Mr. Biden because a jury would see him as “a sympathetic, well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory.”

Still, Mr. Biden insisted for weeks that he would not drop out of the race. He urged Democrats calling for him to step down to give him more time to right the ship. Ultimately, Mr. Biden heeded the calls.

Shortly after his announcement on Sunday, Mr. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to run at the top of the Democratic ticket. Democrats immediately fell in line. Within two days, Ms. Harris picked up enough delegates to lock up the nomination at the party’s convention next month in Chicago.

Ms. Harris hit the campaign trail this week with stops in Milwaukee and Indianapolis. She is vetting potential running mates, including Govs. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, Andy Beshar of Kentucky and Roy Cooper of North Carolina. Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona is another consideration.

Now that Mr. Biden has dropped out of the race, Republicans have demanded his resignation from the White House. They argue that if he cannot run for reelection for the next five months, then he will not be able to run the country.

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, Minnesota Republican, said if the president is unfit to run for reelection, “he’s certainly unfit to control our nuclear codes.”

Others have called on Ms. Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Biden from power.

Oval Office remarks are rare for a president, and Mr. Biden has given fewer speeches from the resolute desk than his predecessors. In his 3½ years as president, Mr. Biden has delivered only two other Oval Office addresses, including one last week after the attempted assassination of Mr. Trump.

Mr. Biden is the first incumbent president not to seek a second term since President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. President Harry S. Truman declined to run for a second term in 1952.