Biden left presidential race to save democracy, he says

NEW YORK, July 25 (BBC): US President Joe Biden has told Americans in a televised address that he decided to end his faltering re-election campaign in a bid to save US democracy.

Mr Biden, 81, said he felt his record as president "merited a second term" but that "nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy".

He said he endorsed US Vice-President Kamala Harris to unite their fellow Democrats and the country.

The White House speech marked his first public appearance since he left the race on 21 July, paving the way for Ms Harris to run for the party's nomination.

Pressure had been building on him from colleagues and donors to step aside over doubts about his ability to serve another term following a disastrous debate with Republican Donald Trump.

While he said his accomplishments, which he listed in detail, merited a second term in office, he added that "nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy - and that includes personal ambition."

Left unsaid was the cold, hard reality that he resigned because it was becoming increasingly clear that he was going to lose to Donald Trump in November. And that is an outcome that those in his party universally view as catastrophic.

Trailing in the polls, embarrassed by a miserable debate performance and with a growing chorus in the Democratic Party calling for him to step aside, there was no clear path to a Biden victory.

While the president may not have said it, his Republican predecessor - and now former rival for the White House - had no such qualms.

At a rally in Charlotte, North Carolina, a few hours before the address, Donald Trump said Mr Biden dropped out because he was losing badly.

Then he went on the attack against Kamala Harris, the party's new presumptive nominee, claiming that she was a "radical left lunatic" and the "ultra-liberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe".

Republican groups have been flooding the airwaves in key battleground states, in an attempt to define Ms Harris in their terms, not hers. According to research by the Associated Press, Trump's side is slated to outspend their Democratic counterparts 25-to-1 over the course of the next month.

One advertisement had been saying Ms Harris was complicit in covering up the president's "obvious mental decline".

Mr Biden's speech offered a nationally televised, primetime opportunity to provide a rebuttal to the attacks against his vice-president and to firmly address concerns about his ability to continue to fulfil his presidential duties.

It was an opportunity he mostly passed on.

Towards the end of his speech, the president did talk up his running mate. He said Ms Harris was "experienced, tough, capable" and an "incredible partner for me and a leader for our country".

They were strong words, but there weren't many of them. He spent more time discussing Benjamin Franklin than he did his vice-president - the person he endorsed on Sunday, and the one who will be the most important torch-carrier for his legacy in the months ahead.