President Joe Biden promised a peaceful transfer of power in a brief speech from the Rose Garden on Thursday, after an election that saw Vice President Kamala Harris decisively defeated by former President Donald Trump.
“For over 200 years, America has carried on the greatest experiment in self government in the history of the world,” Biden said. ”Where the people vote and choose their own leaders and they do it peacefully, and we’re in a democracy. The will of the people always prevails. Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory.”
Biden touted the results as evidence of the legitimacy of American elections, as Trump has still refused to acknowledge his 2020 defeat and most Republicans continue to believe that Biden was elected illegitimately.
Biden addressed his supporters, calling on them to remain involved under the impending administration.
The speech comes as Democrats point fingers following a loss that saw them lose the presidential popular vote for the first time since 2004, and control of the U.S. Senate for the first time since 2018.
His speech came the day after Harris made her concession speech at Howard University.
“Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other, and we accept the choice the country’s made,” Biden said. “I’ve said many times, you can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.”
After a poor performance in the June debate between him and Trump, intraparty pressure led to Biden’s historic withdrawal from the race, making him the first time sitting president to withdraw from the nomination after winning the primaries.
Biden, who defeated Trump four years ago and faced an aggressive effort by the then-president and his allies to prevent the realization of his victory, announced on July 21 that he would not seek reelection, amidst concerns about his unpopularity and age.
“Much of the work we’ve done is already being felt by the American people, but the vast majority of it will be felt over the next 10 years,” Biden said.
“We have legislation we passed that’s only now kicking in. We’re going to see over a trillion dollars in infrastructure work done, changing people’s lives in rural communities and communities that are in real difficulty, because it takes time to get it done,” he added
Biden’s term most notably included the passage of three large legislative packages: the American Rescue Plan in 2021, and the Inflation Reduction Act and Infrastructure Investments and Jobs Act in 2022.
However, consumer discontent dragged down Biden’s approval ratings, and may have helped to prevent a Harris victory. Although unemployment is at historic lows and the US ’GDP has grown substantially, voters have looked poorly upon the administration for its handling of inflation.
“We’re leaving behind the strongest economy in the world. I know people are still hurting, but things are changing rapidly,” Biden said.
The administration will have two months to facilitate a transfer of power and pass its agenda before Republicans take control of the executive branch and the Senate.
“Now we have 74 days to finish our term. Let’s make every day count. That’s the responsibility we have to the American people. Look folks, you all know in your lives, setbacks are unavoidable. But giving up is unforgivable,” Biden said.
“The American experiment endures. We’re going to be ok, but we need to stay engaged, we need to keep going, and above all, we need to keep the faith.”
