Biden is trying to reassure dejected Democrats by promising a smooth transfer of power to Trump

Washington
CNN
—

President Joe Biden on Thursday acknowledged Donald Trump's victory in the 2024 presidential election, seeking to comfort Americans anxious about the prospect of another Trump term as his own legacy remains in question.

“Setbacks are inevitable, but giving up is unforgivable,” the president said in the Rose Garden in his first public remarks since Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. “We all get knocked down, but the measure of our character, as my father would say, is how quickly we get back up.”

“Remember,” Biden said, “defeat does not mean we are defeated.” We lost this fight. The America of your dreams calls you to rise again.”

Instead of using his last ten weeks in power to cement his promise to act as a bridge between generations and tout his outstanding achievements, Biden finds himself in one of the worst situations: a president who recognizes the loss of a race, in which he found himself ousted and preparing to be ousted by a man he has portrayed for years as an existential threat to democracy in America.

Throughout the 2024 campaign, Biden often repeated a phrase intended to underscore Trump's refusal four years ago to admit his own loss and commit to a peaceful transfer of power. When Biden acknowledged his vice president's defeat on Thursday, this sentence had a different meaning: “You can't just love your country when you win.”

With his comments, Biden wanted to reaffirm the sanctity of the election and acknowledge Trump's resulting victory. Within a day, both Biden and Harris acknowledged defeat and congratulated Trump, while efforts were underway to persuade the former and future president to visit the White House – all things Trump has done in the four years following his defeat to Biden never did.

“I also hope that we can resolve the question of the integrity of the American electoral system,” Biden said. “It’s honest, it’s fair and it’s transparent and you can trust it whether you win or lose.”

What will happen next with Biden's political legacy is uncertain. Trump is threatening to withdraw from some of the relationships with foreign powers that Biden spent years personally building during his time on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Few of Biden's outstanding achievements cannot be undone by his successor.

Rather than being remembered for his infrastructure bill, his student loan forgiveness program or his leadership in the country's recovery from the pandemic, Biden's legacy may depend on how history judges his decision to stay in the race as long as he did did, and to deprive Harris of the chance to introduce himself to the country much earlier.

Although he tried to convey a sense of optimism in his brief remarks, Biden betrayed a hint of doubt about the future.

“The path before us is clear,” Biden said, “assuming we stick to it.”

This is a recent story and will be updated.