Biden’s Oval Office address now hands debate over democracy to Harris

CNN —

President Joe Biden saved his most powerful argument against Donald Trump for the moment he explained to the nation why he was no longer the person to make it.

In his primetime Oval Office address on Wednesday, Biden ceded the political stage to Kamala Harris, ushering in an unusual period heading into the election where the vice president, not the president, will lead their party.

Apart from Biden’s announcement on Sunday not to seek reelection, after days of Democratic Party turmoil, the speech was the most critical moment in his attempt to pass power to Harris. The new presumptive Democratic nominee must now work quickly to carve her own political identity and to make a case for her own presidency — a task in which she must create a vision, program and aura that is distinct from Biden’s and his political liabilities.

This reversal of power dynamics requires Biden to swallow his own aspirations, may at times compromise his dignity, and for Harris, at some point — perhaps as soon as this week over Gaza — to break from her boss for her own political good.

President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, July 24, 2024, about his decision to drop his Democratic presidential reelection bid. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, Pool)

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The president explained his decision to end his bid for reelection after weeks of humiliating public debate over his age and mental cognition as instead motivated by a desire to pass the torch to a new generation of leadership at a time of unmatched peril. “I revere this office, but I love my country more. It’s been the honor of my life