Joe Biden made a public address on Wednesday morning and promised a peaceful transfer of power.
While speaking in the Rose Garden at the White House, Biden shared, “Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump, and congratulated him on his victory.”
Biden added, “I assured him I’d direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition.”
Biden’s address comes after Kamala Harris’s concession speech at Howard University on Tuesday.
Watch Biden’s speech here:
President Biden addressed the nation a little while ago.
Here is his full entire speech. pic.twitter.com/K1Bk7CHHU2
— Art Candee 🍿🥤 (@ArtCandee) November 7, 2024
Biden was noticeably very happy while addressing the crowd:
Biden looks the happiest he has ever been during his presidency. pic.twitter.com/ZmuUxlnKK0
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) November 7, 2024
I've never seen Biden so happy recently 🤣 pic.twitter.com/FqlsqUT6x6
— Dr. Eli David (@DrEliDavid) November 7, 2024
BREAKING:
Biden gives his speech on the election:
“You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbour only when you agree”
— Visegrád 24 (@visegrad24) November 7, 2024
Here’s what NPR reported:
President Biden promised a peaceful transfer of power when his administration ends in January, as he hands off the White House to his former opponent, President-elect Donald Trump.
Biden spoke from the Rose Garden at the White House Thursday morning, following his party’s stinging defeat in Tuesday’s election, with his family and administration officials in the audience.
“Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump, congratulated him on his victory, and I assured him I’d direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition,” Biden said. “That’s what the American people deserve.”
The Trump campaign said a meeting between the president-elect and Biden will take place at the White House soon.
In his brief remarks, Biden also seemed to try to quell any future questions and unfounded claims about the integrity of the election system in the country.
“I also hope we can lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system,” Biden said. “It is honest, it is fair and it is transparent and it can be trusted, win or lose.”
Joe Biden addresses the nation. He’s as happy as you can imagine. pic.twitter.com/mC2MhEYXS9
— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) November 7, 2024
Per The Telegraph:
What is it about Democrats and arriving late to their own speeches? Kamala Harris’ tardiness in giving a concession address was even worse than Hillary Clinton’s notorious no-show on election night in 2016. Joe Biden’s half-hour delay to his national address today was comparatively brief, but still remarkably careless.
After the landslide victory of Donald Trump, with the likely possibility of the Republican candidate carrying the popular vote along with the electoral college, America would naturally be curious as to what their still-sitting President thought about the whole affair. He may have called MAGA supporters “garbage” a few days before polls closed, but anything can happen in a week.
And so you may be disappointed to learn that Biden’s speech was uncharacteristically to the point, lasting a little under ten minutes. After the obligatory nod to the centuries-long experiment of American self-governance, the President acknowledged that “the will of the people always prevails” with a remarkably upbeat expression.
This was an appeal to unity, to continuing the “struggle for the soul of America” while honouring the institutions that bind the nation together. A barely-veiled admonishment to respect the integrity of elections and the officials who work in them may have felt targeted at the opposing party, but could equally apply to the paranoia of progressive activists unwilling to accept the reality of a Trump landslide.
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!