House Democrats Wednesday night praised President Joe Biden for his speech explaining his decision to step aside from the 2024 presidential race, putting an end to a bitter chapter of Democratic infighting over Biden’s future where many Democratic lawmakers publicly and privately pressured the president to not run for reelection.
Biden’s disastrous debate performance on June 27 sent the Democratic Party into a tailspin, where concerns about the president’s mental acuity and the negative impact that could have on down ballot races culminated in 36 House and Senate Democrats publicly calling on Biden to end his presidential campaign.
But in the wake of Biden’s heartfelt speech, the consensus among lawmakers was one of gratitude, ready to bury the hatchet.
Democratic Rep. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, who had called for Biden to step aside, praised the speech, saying “He did a great job of laying out why he did what he did.”
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who at one point told Biden that polling showed that the president cannot defeat Donald Trump and that Biden could destroy Democrats’ chances of winning the House in November if he continues seeking a second term, called Biden’s address on Wednesday, “great.”
“I thought it showed his greatness and his goodness,” the California Democrat said.
Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin, who penned a deeply personal letter to Biden earlier this month, said that there is “no shame in taking a well-deserved bow.” He told CNN after watching the speech, “He’s a model to everybody about how to put Democratic community first, above your own ambitions and interests.”
Over the course of the three-and-a-half week saga, Biden tried to quell concerns from lawmakers directly in a series of phone calls.
On one of those calls with a group of moderate House Democrats, Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, shared concerns with Biden that he was losing ground in her state. At the time, the president pushed back, suggesting that he didn’t believe that, which prompted Houlahan to tell Biden that she had polling and it is what she is seeing. The interaction left many on the call frustrated and despondent because they were convinced that not only was the president dug in, but that he was not getting valid information from his tight group of advisers.
But on Wednesday night, Houlahan had a different message, telling CNN, “I was very grateful to him for the very patriotic thing that he did for all of us.”
Democratic Rep. Jared Moskowitz praised Biden’s address as “one of the best speeches I think he’s ever given” despite saying he “didn’t look as good or sound as good.”
After Biden announced Sunday he would step aside and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris, many in the party expressed their support for the new candidate, and a wave of endorsements from state delegations made Harris the presumptive Democratic nominee. Despite attacks from Republicans, including Trump, the party has lined up behind Harris. Wednesday night, many lawmakers reflected on Biden and his speech.
A number of lawmakers reacted to the emotion they felt from Biden while watching the speech.
“He made me cry,” Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a staunch Biden supporter amid concerns about his electability, told reporters Wednesday. “It was the president that I know and love…you could see what it’s like to have a real compassionate, well-intentioned, thoughtful president.”
Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who had hoped Biden would stay in the race, told CNN of the speech, “I thought it was very effective. I imagine it was one of the hardest addresses he’s ever had to deliver.”
“You could tell the weight of it was on him while he was speaking. Sometimes you can just tell when people are talking that what they’re saying is very hard for them to say,” Democratic Rep. Jeff Jackson of North Carolina told CNN.
One of Biden’s top congressional allies, Rep. Jim Clyburn, praised the speech and, when asked if Biden had made the right decision to step aside, said, “I’m happy that he is happy.”
As much as lawmakers applauded Biden, they said the president had made the right decision.
Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna told CNN, “Yes,” Biden made the right decision “because ultimately a decision of running or not is a very personal decision, and he seemed very much at peace with it.”
The rare moment lawmakers had just witnessed was not lost on them.
“We owe him a debt of gratitude for putting the country over self. Around here, that’s like a flying unicorn,” Pocan said.
