(HorizonPost.com) – President Joe Biden finally addressed the nation last Wednesday on his decision to withdraw from the presidential election, saying in an Oval Office address that it was time to “pass the torch” to a younger generation of leaders.
The president, who had not been seen in public since July 17 when he abruptly left Las Vegas for his beach house in Delaware, did not offer a specific explanation for why he changed his mind about dropping out of the race after weeks of defiantly saying he wasn’t going anywhere.
Biden made no mention of his health problems or the concerns about his cognitive decline. Instead, his only explanation for why he withdrew from the race was to “save democracy” and “unite the nation.”
The president waxed nostalgic about his more than 50 years in politics before shifting from presidential address to campaign speech.
Biden vowed to spend his final months in office pursuing elements of his agenda that he failed to accomplish in the first three and a half years. He also said he would call on Congress to enact reforms to the US Supreme Court, claiming that it was “critical” to “democracy.”
Progressive Democrats have been pushing the president to reform the Supreme Court now that conservatives hold the majority.
Sources told the Associated Press that Biden is considering proposing an ethics code on the high court that would be enforceable by law, as well as pursuing term limits for Supreme Court justices.
The proposed reforms would require congressional approval, which would be unlikely as long as Republicans control the House.
The sources also said that the president is considering proposing a constitutional amendment to reverse the Supreme Court’s recent decision on presidential immunity.
Biden also said he planned to use his remaining months to protect voting rights and end the war in Gaza.
Without specifically naming Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, Biden used his Oval Office address to warn Americans about the threat to democracy and reminded them that the fate of the nation was “in your hands.”
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