Election Live Updates: ‘America, I Gave My Best to You,’ Biden Tells D.N.C.
“In what was likely to be one of the last major moments of his political career, President Biden hailed Vice President Kamala Harris and the accomplishments of their administration.
Pinned
In a city where he was supposed to claim the mantle of the Democratic Party for the final time, at a convention where he was supposed to cement his political legacy, President Biden instead passed the torch of leadership, wiping away tears as the crowd rose to its feet in a sustained standing ovation and chanted “Thank you, Joe.”
For Mr. Biden, the outpouring of gratitude for his decision to step aside and make way for Vice President Kamala Harris must have been bittersweet. But his remarks capping the first night of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago were filled with optimism and a fighting spirit, even as he found one of the last major moments of his political career pushed out of prime time on the East Coast after other speakers ran long.
Outside the convention arena on the first day of the Democratic National Convention, pro-Palestinian protesters clashed with police. Inside, pro-Palestinian Democrats celebrated what they called a significant breakthrough: a panel discussion, sponsored by the Harris campaign, that highlighted the toll of Israel’s military campaign against Hamas in Gaza.
The event was the first time in decades that the Democratic Party gave a platform to pro-Palestinian activists. The “uncommitted” delegates, a group of about 30 or so representing Democratic primary voters who had declined to support President Biden over his staunch support for Israel — had pressed for a speaking slot on the main convention stage. But this official concession was nonetheless met with gratitude, even as they insisted that Vice President Kamala Harris would have to go further than her position backing a cease-fire to fully earn their support.
— President Biden
This is misleading.
Mr. Trump has said repeatedly during his 2024 presidential campaign that he would not cut Social Security or Medicare, though he had previously shown brief and vague support for such proposals.
In the two years since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, women who have been denied abortions, often in tragic circumstances, have become powerful messengers for Democratic candidates up and down the ballot — giving interviews, filming ads and, now, appearing at the Democratic National Convention.
Against a black background on the convention stage in Chicago, Amanda Zurawski and her husband, Josh Zurawski, described how she nearly died after going into premature labor at 18 weeks of pregnancy. Doctors at a hospital in Texas, which has a near-total abortion ban, sent her home, deeming her not sick enough to qualify for an abortion under the law’s exception for life-threatening emergencies.
The large digital screen behind Biden is playing a “thank you Joe” graphic as he embraced the first lady. Vice President Harris then joined Biden, as well as his family.
— President Biden
This is misleading.
Looking at a single presidential term, Donald J. Trump’s administration did rack up more debt than any other in raw dollars — about $7.9 trillion. But the debt rose more under President Barack Obama’s eight years than under Mr. Trump’s four years. Also, when viewed as a percentage increase, the national debt rose more under President George H.W. Bush’s single term than under Mr. Trump’s.
Biden positioned his candidacy as part of a battle for the soul of the nation.Poignant for him to say he gave his soul to the country he has served for half a century.
Biden seems to be wrapping up on the very personal theme, “America, I gave my best to you.” He said he was told he was too young to be in the Senate, and too old to remain president.
“Like many of you, I gave my heart and soul to this nation,” Biden says.
Biden says that America’s billionaires “would still be very wealthy” if Harris is elected. That’s a standard message for him, but this is a venue where there are plenty of billionaires in the audience. They’re ensconced in suites here at the United Center, enjoying the perks of being big Democratic donors.
“America -- I gave my best to you” will surely find its way into headlines tomorrow morning.
That was perhaps Biden’s most heartfelt line of the night.
“We love you, Joe!” Letitia James, the New York attorney general, yells out as Biden describes having gone so far after being a kid with a stutter.
From where I am sitting in the hall, I can see large sections of empty chairs. I see the Delaware delegation is going strong, though.
Wow. Biden just said tapping Harris to be his vice president was the best decision he’s ever made in his career. That’s a long career.
Finally Biden is offering full-throated support for Harris. “Like many of our best presidents, she was also vice president.” There is a smile from Biden.
— President Biden
This needs context.
The claim that, as president, Donald J. Trump called veterans “suckers” and “losers” stems from a 2020 article in The Atlantic about his relationship to the military.
The article relied on anonymous sources, but many of the accounts have been corroborated by other outlets, including The New York Times, and by John F. Kelly, a retired four-star Marine general who served as Mr. Trump’s White House chief of staff. Mr. Trump has emphatically denied making the remarks since the article was published. Here’s a breakdown.
This is a lengthy speech for Biden. He just brought up the ancient Greeks.
If Harris wanted a clean break from Biden, with her own policies, the president is making clear that her program would be a completion of his own.
Biden’s acknowledgment of the “protesters in the street,” saying “they have a point,” was an interesting coda to the Gaza demonstrations that dogged him for the past six months. Now that he is not running for re-election, he can afford to be gracious toward those who had vexed him.
— President Biden
This needs context.
As a percentage of wealth held by white families, Black and Latino families did grow to the largest amounts in 2022 in two decades. But the disparity in absolute dollar value actually increased.
There it is. “I love the job, but I love my country more,” Biden says.
A big cheer when Biden says “end this war,’” referring to the Gaza conflict. He acknowledges that protesters “have a point,’’ without delving into the question of whether he could have forced an earlier halt.
Biden spent a notable amount of time on his education record, but beyond canceling student loan debt, the administration has not been aggressive on education policy. That was surprising, given how much schools are still struggling more than three years after the pandemic hit.
“Putin thought he’d take Kyiv in three days. Three years later, Ukraine is still free,’’ Biden says, turning to one of his proudest accomplishments, rallying NATO to take on Putin. Trump, he says, bows to Putin; “Kamala Harris will never do it.”
This speech sounds a lot like it is just everything that Biden has ever wanted to say about what he has done as president. Every anecdote we’ve heard before is here. We are now at the foreign policy segment.
Biden has sporadically vouched for Harris throughout this speech, but the focus has been on his record. Curious to see whether he speaks about her more fully here.
Biden’s anger at Trump is palpable. He is not a joyful warrior here.
Biden had a little glitch as he tried to quote the Supreme Court’s statement that women are not without electoral power. But he righted himself when he said women showed their power in 2022 and would do so again in November.
— President Biden
This needs context.
Mr. Biden signed a law that places a cap of $35 a month on insulin for all Medicare Part D beneficiaries. But he is overstating the average cost before the law.
Patients’ out-of-pocket spending on insulin was $434 on average for all of 2019 — not per month — and $449 per year for Medicare enrollees, according to the Health and Human Services Department.
Biden described how Trump encouraged Republicans to tank a bipartisan border bill that would have invested in immigration agencies and curtailed asylum. That is true. Republicans tanked it, taking a cue from the former president. It’s also true that the Senate border bill marked a shift for Biden, who during the 2020 campaign committed to ensuring migrants had a chance to make their case for asylum in the U.S.
— Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky
This is exaggerated.
Mr. Beshear was referring to comments Mr. Vance made during his 2022 campaign for Senate. Mr. Vance has rejected such interpretations.“
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