'America, I Gave My Best To You': Biden Speaks At DNC, Rallies Party For Harris

CHICAGO, IL — A month after he announced he was withdrawing from the 2024 presidential election, an energetic President Joe Biden spoke Monday night at the Democratic National Convention, pledging his support for Vice President Kamala Harris and promising, "She'll be a president our children can look up to."

Amidst chants of "thank you, Joe" and "We love Joe," Biden spoke after his wife, first lady Jill Biden, and daughter Ashley Biden paid tribute to his decades of public service.

"America, I gave my best to you," Biden said. "For 50 years, like many of you, I give my heart and soul to my nation, and I’ve been blessed a million times returned."

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Biden also promised his work is not done.

"I've got 5 months left in my presidency, I’ve got a lot to do. I intend to get it done," the president said.

He also briefly addressed the pressure he faced to end his reelection campaign, saying, "It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more. All this talk about how I’m angry at all those people who said I should step down, that’s not true."

Biden also said that selecting Harris as his 2020 running mate "was the best decision I’ve ever made in my whole career.

"She’s tough, she’s experienced and she has enormous integrity," he said. "She’ll be a president our children can look up to, respected by world leaders."

The president went on to rally Democrats to fight to get Harris elected. "Donald Trump says he will refuse to accept the election results if he loses again," Biden said. "Think about that, he means it. He’s promising a bloodbath if he loses. We saved democracy in 2020, and now we must save it again in 2024."

Harris also made a surprise appearance at the DNC Monday night, making a brief speech and praising Biden.

"This is going to be a great week," she said. "And I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible president, Joe Biden, who will be speaking later tonight. Joe, thank you for your historic leadership … we are forever grateful to you."

Related: Protesters Partially Breach Fence Surrounding DNC

Speaker Highlights

Here's a look at some of Monday night's DNC speakers.

U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois said the DNC will celebrate Biden's decades of service: "We’re going to give him all of his flowers ... I don’t think Joe is done, I think he’s going to be like Jimmy Carter. I think he’s going to be a president who continues to serve his country because he loves his country so much ... I see a man who’s looking forward."

Shawn Fain, United Auto Workers president, bashed Trump and lauded Biden and Harris for their efforts to support workers: "I want to say thank you to Joe Biden for making history by walking the picket line with UAW," Fain said, later adding: "It's real simple: Kamala Harris is one of us. She’s a fighter for the working class, and Donald Trump is a scab." Fain also joked that "in the words of the great American poet Nelly, it's getting hot in here," before taking off his jacket to reveal a "Trump is a scab, vote Harris" T-shirt.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York spoke of Harris' working class roots: "Six years ago, I was taking omelet orders as a waitress in New York City. I didn’t have health insurance. My family was fighting off foreclosure, and we were struggling with bills after my dad passed away unexpectedly from cancer," she said. "... America has before us a rare and precious opportunity. We have the opportunity to elect a president who is for the middle class because she is from the middle class."

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton reflected on her unsuccessful 2016 presidential bid despite winning the popular vote, and noted that Sunday was the 104th anniversary of women winning the right to vote: "Together we put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling. And tonight, so close to breaking through once and for all, I want to tell you what I see through all those cracks ... On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office as the 47th President of the United States."

First lady Jill Biden: "Joe and I have been together for almost 50 years, and still there are moments when I fall in love with him all over again. Like when I handed him our baby Ashley for the first time and saw his smile light up his face. When he stops on a rope line because he sees someone grieving ... Those moments when I’m reminded of all he’s accomplished in the name of something bigger than himself. And weeks ago, when I saw him dig deep into his soul and decide to no longer seek reelection and endorse Kamala Harris. Joe knows that our nation’s strength doesn’t come from intimidation or cruelty. It comes from the small acts of kindness that heal deep wounds."

Daughter Ashley Biden: "In 2020, my dad selected Kamala Harris to beat Donald Trump, and he knows in 2024, she will beat Donald Trump again ... This is the fight of our lifetime, our freedom, our democracy, our reproductive rights, all of this, all of it, is on the ballot. And I know together we can do this, because my dad helped show us the way."

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