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CNN Live Event/Special
Biden Delivers Historic Address On Leaving 2024 Race; Biden: It's Time For "Fresh Voices, Yes, Younger Voices"; Joe Biden Explains Decision To Drop Out Of The Election In His Address From The Oval Office; Biden Endorses Kamala Harris As The Presumptive Democratic Nominee; Harris Less Than Two Weeks Away From Naming VP Pick. Aired 7:50-9p ET
Aired July 24, 2024 - 19:50 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Good evening. We are now just a little bit about ten minutes away from hearing words that have not been spoken by a sitting president since March of 1968.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: That is when then President Lyndon Johnson, nearly 40 minutes into his speech on the Vietnam War suddenly pivoted and shocked the nation by saying, quote, I shall not seek and will not accept the nomination of my party for another term as your president, unquote.
COOPER: Tonight from the Oval Office, history will not repeat itself. It won't come as a surprise, but it certainly will rhyme and strangely so.
TAPPER: Just as in 1968, a sitting vice president will ultimately likely become the party's nominee and will accept the nomination at a Democratic convention in Chicago. Same as then, after an outbreak of political violence, in this case, the attempt on Donald Trump's life, back then, the murders of Senator Robert F. Kennedy and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
COOPER: Well, thankfully, the country tonight is neither in mourning nor bogged down in a bitterly divisive war. It is, however, in the middle of the kind of political and generational transition which most American's have never seen before in the next step is just minutes away, we have already gotten some excerpts of what President Biden will say tonight.
CNN's MJ Lee joins us now from the White House with that.
So what do we expect to hear?
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Anderson, President Biden is about to deliver what has to have been one of the most challenging speeches he has ever heard that right coming after a period of a really wrenching decision for the president.
Speaking from the Oval Office, he is going to address the American people first time about that stunning decision to drop out of the 2024 race and lay out his vision for the coming months that are left of his first term in the White House.
He is going to make clear that that decision came from the belief that he believes that it was best for the country for him to drop out. He will say the defense of democracy he is more important than any title, clearly, a reference to his own title.
And while all of this comes after a really remarkable sequence of political events, one name that we do not expect the president to mention tonight is that of Donald Trump's. I've spoken to a senior official who saw a draft of the president's remarks and they say that they should expect the contents of the speech to be really high level in other words, to really meet the moment that the president is in, and that the country is in right now. But however, a different person whose name we do expect the president to talk about is, of course, Kamala Harris, his vice president.
He will say the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation and of course, Anderson, Vice President Kamala Harris is the person that he is hoping to successfully pass the presidential torch to now.
COOPER: And what is the mood among White House staff?
LEE: Yeah, this has been an incredibly emotional time for a lot of folks here at the White House, and certainly the Biden campaign as well. The news from the president over the weekend that he was dropping out but the race really came as a big shock to so many folks. We know that it was a very closely held decision. So a lot of people just certainly were not expecting that decision.
But just putting the politics aside, too, for a lot of these people, they feel like they have sacrificed a lot to work in this administration or for the campaign. And you do just sort of get the sense talking to folks up behind the scenes that tonight's speech from the president could end up having a bit of a cliff starting influence. Now, standing here at the South Lawn, just moments ago, we did see a big procession of folks that work at the EOB, walking towards the White House where we are expecting that there's going to be a watch party of sorts.
They're going to have pizza and beer and wine and watch the president deliver these important remarks together. But of course, a celebratory event is usually what a watch party is. But I think that certainly doesn't capture the mood for so many people that are watching this speech tonight -- Anderson.
COOPER: Yeah, a historic night.
MJ Lee, thank you. Jake?
TAPPER: Thanks, Anderson.
With me here in studio, CNN's John King, Kasie Hunt, Dana Bash, Nia- Malika Henderson, and Biden biographer and "New Yorker" writer Evan Osnos.
[19:55:08]
Dana, you just heard those excerpts from MJ. What do you make of the tone that President Biden we're told is trying to say?
DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: He knows how important this speeches and it's the most important speech he never wanted to give, but he's going to give it. And so that's why I'm told by a senior administration official that since he made the decision and wrote that initial letter, that surprised everybody that he put out on social media, he's been working on this speech.
We don't expect it to be very long but we expect it if he has the kind of effect that he wanted to have to pack a big punch with the message that he's giving again, not so much about himself, although part of it will be about that, but about what he sees as the stakes for the country.
TAPPER: And, Kasie, what more are you expecting to hear from the president?
KASIE HUNT, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yeah, I think that one of the things that sticks out to me, what we've learned so far. And as I've talked to sources on the Hill and elsewhere today, is that this, idea, that he is messaging exactly what he was trying to push against Donald Trump. A lot of people were not hearing a lot of what he had to say because of the challenges he was facing.
But this idea that it's about the country and not about you. They have been trying to argue that Donald Trump is obsessed with himself. He is out for himself. That is a campaign message that they were trying to push.
And you saw it, for example, in the letter that Jamie Raskin wrote, urging the president to step down, that you actually should live this idea that its not about you. And I think that when we hear that from the president, it does actually play directly into the campaign that's going to continue to unfold.
TAPPER: And, John, the president and his expected to say, quote, the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation, evoking John F. Kennedy.
How do you think that's going to be received?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I can tell you from a couple of days I just spent in your home state, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. I think it's going to be received very well. Your eyes don't lie, even people who love Joe Biden have watched the deterioration over the last few months, watch the debate, and were horrified.
I got a sense of gratitude from voters and there's an interesting dynamic. His approval rating was a drag on him, made him simply non competitive in this race. After the debate, it just did. Now, as he's free to being candidate and he gets to be president again. Oddly, if the American people start to view him more favorably, Kamala Harris will benefit from that.
And so, he has a chance now to be president. Of course, there'll be involved in the campaign. But if he ticks up a little bit, every little bit, he ticks up well help her.
TAPPER: And Nia-Malika, how much should he focus on his vice president tonight, the one to whom he is passing the torch?
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yeah, that's right. Listen, he's obviously going to talk about his record of accomplishments and cast her as a partner in those accomplishments. If you think back to when he called in when she went to the Delaware headquarters, he was -- it was very warm exchange, right? He said, love you, he called her kid endearingly several times.
There is some worry among some Democrats that this narrative that is out there that Kamala Harris sort of pushed him over -- you hear Donald Trump talking about there was some worry that maybe some Democrats think that. I think his presence tonight saying that this is his decision, saying that he thinks it's in the best interests of the country to pass the torch. I think that's going to go a long way in playing some of those fears that there's this idea out there that Kamala sort of pushed him to the side.
TAPPER: Evan, he is an emotional guy, an emotional old school pal, right? His eyes glazed with tears, we've both seen it. This is probably going to be really tough for him.
EVAN OSNOS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I mean, this is incredibly difficult. You have to think about this, as a position he has pursued since he was in college. It means thought of himself as a potential president, even all the way back in high school when John F. Kennedy became the first Irish Catholic president. And here he is making the exceedingly rare decision in American politics at, let's face it, a fairly narcissistic time in politics where you see people, elected officials, who put but themselves ahead of the country, making this rare choice.
I think this is a chance also for the reasons John said is now the issue of age is off the table. There is a moment of relief. He can go back full-circle to the issues that got him into this race, which was about standing up to authoritarianism at home and abroad.
So in a way, I think you're starting to hear him say the things he was saying in the inauguration, which is about we are at a country in a winter of peril, in a sense, we are at a moment when it is up to us to defend our democracy and the goal will be if he can make it less about him and make it about us.
TAPPER: Do you think, Evan, that history will remember the speech tonight and not the three-and-a-half weeks proceeding that were so chaotic and not however months were going on where he was deteriorating? Do you think that ultimately that will be erased because of this act?
OSNOS: The short answer is that this speech is historic in and of itself simply the fact that it is happening for the first time in more than half a century is the end of that fact.
[20:00:00]
However, the final verdict on what Joe Biden has done in this brutal question of age will be decided in November, whether or not he has in fact been the bridge to the new generation. Now, we won't know that and that tonight is about him calling voters together, reminding them that is what is at stake.
TAPPER: But Dana, as you know, I mean, Republicans are not going to let it die there. We are already told that the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Jamie Comer is going to hold hearings, how long has this been going on? Republicans -- the Trump campaign is out there saying that Kamala Harris was part of the "cover up."
BASH: Which is why in CNN's new polling today, it showed -- it really was interesting to me, maybe a little bit surprising given that talking point that is out there that now that the president has made his decision, most people say he's okay to serve the rest of his term.
TAPPER: Like 70 percent of the American people --
BASH: It's really -- it's really stunning.
TAPPER: He should serve out the rest -- the remainder of his term.
BASH: So, they're going to play their games and they're going to do what they can because they have the power of the gavel and that's what they do. But it doesn't seem as though that dog is going to hunt.
HUNT: I will say that I have talked to some Democrats who run the House and senate races who actually are a little bit worried about the cover up charge. I think that less so, the question of whether President Biden should continue to serve, but more so, the idea that this was kept from voters, right?
BASH: Yes, like two separate --
HUNT: They are two separate things and people really react to the idea that this was covered up, that they were lied to about what was going on. That is a real vulnerability and I've had some members of Congress, one, Congresswoman Annie Kuster from New Hampshire admitted it to me on the record.
TAPPER: Yes, and those are questions for another moment. But right now, we're about to go to the Oval Office and hear this historic address from President Joseph Robinette Biden.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE BIDEN, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My fellow Americans, I'm speaking to you tonight from behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office. In this sacred space, I'm surrounded by portraits of extraordinary American presidents. Thomas Jefferson wrote the immortal words that guide this nation. George Washington, who showed us presidents are not kings. Abraham Lincoln, who implored us to reject malice. Franklin Roosevelt, who inspired us to reject fear.
I revere this office, but I love my country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title.
I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people, but this sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me. It's about you, your families, your futures. It's about we the people, and we can never forget that. And I never have.
I've made it clear that I believe America is at an inflection point, one of those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now will determine our fate of our nation and the world for decades to come.
America is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward, between hope and hate, between unity and division. We have to decide, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect, freedom, justice and democracy? In this moment, we can see those we disagree with not as enemies, but as fellow Americans. Can we do that? Does character in public life still matter?
I believe you know the answer to these questions because I know you, the American people, and I know this, we are a great nation because we are a good people.
When you elected me to this office, I promised to always level with you, to tell you the truth. And the truth, the sacred cause of this country, is larger than any one of us, and those of us who cherish that cause cherish it so much, a cause of American democracy itself must unite to protect it.
You know, in recent weeks it's become clear to me that I needed to unite my party in this critical endeavor. I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all merited a second term, but nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy, and that includes personal ambition.
[20:05:07]
So, I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation. I know there is a time and a place for long years of experience in public life, but there's also a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices, yes, younger voices, and that time and place is now.
Over the next six months, I'll be focused on doing my job as president. That means I'll continue to lower costs for hard-working families, grow our economy. I'll keep defending our personal freedoms and our civil rights, from the right to vote to the right to choose. I'll keep calling out hate and extremism, make it clear there is no place, no place in America for political violence or any violence ever, period. I'm going to keep speaking out to protect our kids from gun violence, our planet from climate crisis, is the existential threat. And I will keep fighting for my for my cancer moonshot, so we can end cancer as we know it because we can do it. And I'm going to call for Supreme Court reform because this is critical to our democracy, Supreme Court reform. You know, I will keep working to ensure America remains strong and secure and the leader of the free world.
I'm the first president in this century to report to the American people that the United States is not at war anywhere in the world. We'll keep rallying a coalition of proud nations to stop Putin from taking over Ukraine and doing more damage. We'll keep NATO stronger, and I'll make it more powerful and more united than at any time in all of our history. I'll keep doing the same for allies in the Pacific.
You know, when I came to office, the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass the United States. That's not the case anymore. And I'm going to keep working to end the war in Gaza, bring home all the hostages and bring peace and security to the Middle East and end this war.
We're also working around the clock to bring home Americans being unjustly detained all around the world. You know, we've come so far since my inauguration. On that day, I told you as I stood in that winter -- we stood in a winter of peril and a winter of possibilities, peril and possibilities. We were in the grip of the worst pandemic in the century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the worst attack on our democracy since the Civil War, but we came together as Americans, and we got through it. We emerged stronger, more prosperous and more secure.
Today, we have the strongest economy in the world, creating nearly 16 million new jobs -- a record. Wages are up, inflation continues to come down, the racial wealth gap is the lowest it's been in 20 years. We're literally rebuilding our entire nation, urban, suburban, rural and tribal communities. Manufacturing has come back to America.
We're leading the world again in chips and science and innovation. We finally beat Big Pharma after all these years, to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors, and I'm going to keep fighting to make sure we lower the cost for everyone, not just seniors.
More people have health care today in America than ever before. And I signed one of the most significant laws helping millions of veterans and their families who were exposed to toxic materials. You know, the most significant climate law ever, ever in the history of the world, the first major gun safety law in 30 years. And today, violent crime rate is at a 50-year low.
We're also securing our border. Border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office. And I've kept my commitment to appoint the first Black woman to the Supreme Court of the United States of America. I also kept my commitment to have an administration that looks like America and be a president for all Americans.
That's what I've done. I ran for president four years ago because I believed, and still do, that the soul of America was at stake. The very nature of who we are was at stake and that's still the case. America is an idea, an idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant.
[20:10:03]
It's the most powerful idea in the history of the world. That idea is that we hold these truths to be self-evident. We're all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights, life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. We've never fully lived up to it, to this sacred idea, but we've never walked away from it either and I do not believe the American people will walk away from it now.
In just a few months, the American people will choose the course of America's future. I made my choice. I made my views known. I would like to thank our great Vice President Kamala Harris. She's experienced, she's tough, she's capable. She's been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country. Now the choice is up to you, the American people.
When you make that choice, remember the words of Benjamin Franklin. It's hanging on my wall here in the Oval Office, alongside the bust of Dr. King and Rosa Parks and Cesar Chavez. When Ben Franklin was asked as he emerged from the convention going on, whether the founders have given America a monarchy or republic, Franklin's response was "a republic, if you can keep it." A republic if you can keep it. Whether we keep our republic is now in your hands.
My fellow Americans, it's been the privilege of my life to serve this nation for over 50 years. Nowhere else on earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and Claymont, Delaware, one day sit behind the Resolute Desk in the Oval Office as President of the United States, but here I am. That's what's so special about America.
We are a nation of promise and possibilities, of dreamers and doers, of ordinary Americans doing extraordinary things. I've given my heart and my soul to our nation, like so many others. I've been blessed a million times in return with the love and support of the American people. I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you.
The great thing about America is here kings and dictators do not rule, the people do. History is in your hands. The power is in your hands. The idea of America lies in your hands. We just have to keep faith, keep the faith and remember who we are. We're the United States of America and there's simply nothing, nothing beyond our capacity when we do it together.
So let's act together, preserve our democracy. God bless you all and may God protect our troops. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: President Biden saying, "The idea of America lies in your hands," in the speech tonight from the Oval Office, pledging to finish out his term in office, but passing the political torch to Vice President Harris, saying, "I revere this office, but I love my country more."
I want to get a quick first take from three people who worked with President Biden. David Axelrod, Kate Bedingfield, Van Jones -- David.
DAVID AXELROD, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I mean, it was it was a -- I think it was about as good a speech as he could have made. I think it was powerful and poignant. And it had a principle behind it and you just read it. The idea that the country is more important than anyone one individual, and that he thought he could best serve his country by stepping aside now. And he said, "I've made my choice. Now the choice is yours."
I thought the end of that speech was so moving. The fact that -- he is in fact a reflection of the greatness of America that this kid from Scranton and Claymont.
COOPER: The kid with a stutter.
AXELROD: Yes, yes.
COOPER: That's how he started, which is so interesting to me that he's the president of the United States, and that is the first way he describes himself, a kid with a stutter.
AXELROD: Yes, and of course, that's the thing -- the quality of Joe Biden that has allowed him to persist all these years against all these odds and -- but he's leaving. Forget the three-and-a-half weeks he's done an unnatural thing, very rare in the annals of history.
He stepped away from power and he did it in the interest of the country.
COOPER: Despite of -- as he said, personal ambition.
AXELROD: I think this will -- I think history will look kindly on Joe Biden and I think people will look differently on him tomorrow than they did a week ago. And they will, maybe, see his achievements and his commitment to this country more clearly.
COOPER: Kate.
KATE BEDINGFIELD, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I think one of the things that was so compelling about this is, it had the emotional heft of a concession speech, but he was laying out a path forward, not just for the next six months of his presidency, but also kind of laying down a challenge to the country. Who do we want to be and where do we want to go?
[20:15:09]
The other thing that struck me while I was listening to it as somebody who has worked for him for a long time, I worked with him in 2019, 2020, how much of the thematic was the same as I heard from him in 2019, when he was running for president, when he wanted to take on Donald Trump because he believed Trump posed a threat to democracy, and that Trump was tearing us apart as a country in a fundamental way and was a threat to unity.
And so, in this moment that, by all measure is historic and I think will be remembered for a very long time, so much of what he was saying was so true to why he got into this race in the first place and that showed me that, even as I know, this was incredibly hard for him to do. This would be hard for anyone to do.
It feels almost unnatural for someone to have achieved the thing that they have been working toward their entire life and then say, the best thing is for me to step aside. Even knowing how hard that was for him, I think, hearing those important themes come through. I think he was shining a light for the country moving forward over the next three- and-a-half months through a really perilous election.
COOPER: He said America is at an inflection point. He asked the questions, do we still believe in honesty, decency, respect and character in public life still matter? And he said, I hope you have some idea how grateful I am to all of you.
VAN JONES, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, the question, does character still matter? Well, it does tonight. It does tonight.
The kid with a stutter did good. He did good, that's a good man. He fell on his sword. Most heroes, they fight to the bitter end, he fell on his sword -- he's an old guy but the heart is still there.
The words aren't as clear, but the love is as clear. The heart is still there. I think people need to look at this because you had somebody sitting in that chair and he wouldn't give up power no matter what. Would not give up power, let there be an insurrection, wouldn't get out of that chair, even when the people who voted for you get out the chair, he wouldn't get out the chair.
And you've got somebody who is sitting in that same chair, showing that character does matter, showing that you can have grace, you can put the people first. You can pass the baton and you're a bigger person for it. You are going to be more loved for it.
So, you've got two examples now of what men with power do and how they act at the end. And you couldn't act even better than Joe Biden, that kid with a stutter grew up, he did a great job for this country, and he's doing a great job tonight, and I love that man.
COOPER: To take into account, this is -- Joe Biden has worked his entire life --
JONES: Entire life.
COOPER: -- to get the White House, to become president. As many politicians dream of that their entire lives. He got it, and, David, I mean it sounds like -- for people on the outside, well of course he would make the decision to step aside. To Van's point not a lot of people would make that decision.
JONES: The last guy didn't. The last guy didn't. AXELROD: No, no, no. I think this is historic for that reason. And it does underscore, I think Van makes the very appropriate point. He is sending a message, no one is bigger than this country.
And I think that, that is a very different message that has been emanating from Donald Trump, almost from the beginning, which is the country is me. I am bigger than the country and I think that the contrast is very striking.
BEDINGFIELD: I think this is also, I mean, this is leadership in action. This is leadership by action. I think you have in -- Donald Trump, somebody who makes everything as small as possible, makes it about him. And here you have Joe Biden saying, no, the country is bigger than that. It's bigger than me. This office is bigger than me.
And so, I think in a moment where the country needs leadership, I think this is an incredibly selfless act of leadership that I think history will remember kindly.
JONES: I liked what he said, forward versus backwards, hope versus hate, and unity versus division. I think that's pretty much the whole thing going forward this next six months.
Some of the stuff he talked about, he wants to do that I don't necessarily think he's going to be able to get done. He wants to reform the Supreme Court and all kinds of stuff. He is going to get beat up for that. But the direction that he's trying to take us on, I think is good.
BEDINGFIELD: And he challenged the American people. I mean, he really, he said he endorses Vice President Harris. He made clear that he believes that she is the person to lead us forward and then he really took -- he took this moment again away from himself and even away from her, in some ways, and said to the American people, this is now in your hands, this is to you.
And I think that charge is also incredibly important as we enter into the final stretch of this campaign.
COOPER: We have a lot more folks to hear from the next day, two hours. Jake, let's go back to you.
[20:20:09]
TAPPER: Thanks, Anderson.
Back with our CNN team including Biden biographer, Evan Osnos. John King, let me start with you. Do you think the president's comments met the moment?
KING: I certainly think at the end, they were just about it in New York where the president, talked about his personal story. It's hard -- Democrat, Republican, Independent don't care about politics at all. It is hard not to be moved by that. It is hard not to be moved by somebody who is willingly stepping away from power. I also think the president was very honest there. There was no anger in what you saw, none. But we know there has been a lot of anger behind the scenes in recent days. He said he was stepping aside, "to unify my party."
He didn't say he was stepping aside because his doctor say he is not up to the job. He didn't say he was stepping aside because he had decided it was time. He said he was stepping aside to unify my party.
That is the president eating his piece. That is the president understanding that the fight of the three weeks up to this speech from the debate up to now had created a break we can the Democratic Party that made it likely impossible for him to win and had a lot of Democrats thinking, we're going to lose a lot of everything else if you stay on the ballot.
So, for all the people -- for all the talk about candor in politics, I found that to be the most honest three words of the speech or four words, "to unify my party."
TAPPER: But what was tearing apart the party?
HUNT: His inability to actually follow through on what he himself had described as an existential threat that he was the one -- he kept insisting, he was the one who had to do it. And he admitted, partway through, that. he was only doing this because of Trump. He was convinced, even though there is also a clip where he says 50 other Democrats could beat Trump.
He really thought that it was something he needed to do. And I think at the end of the day, he realized that he couldn't. And he needed to step aside and do this and he even said that, that includes personal ambition. He acknowledged that he had the personal ambition for this, but it really wasn't enough here.
BASH: That's exactly what I was going to say, Kasie. The answer to your question was that line, where he said, nothing can come in the way of saving democracy, that includes personal ambition, suggesting that he is putting his personal ambition aside, but also as part of that, unsaid, is that his personal ambition, political ambition is what drove him to initially go for a second term, which a lot of people when he won, thought that that was kind of understood to begin with.
And a lot of people were surprised that he went for a second term. I don't know, I mean you're the biographer here. I don't know if you agree with that.
TAPPER: Let's just play that. We have that bite cut.
BASH: Yes.
TAPPER: Let's share that moment that Dana Bash was just referring to.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: You know, the recent weeks has become clear to me that I need to unite my party in this critical endeavor.
I believe, my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all merited a second term, but nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy, that includes personal ambition.
So, I've decided that the best way forward is it pass the torch to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our nation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TAPPER: So, he is not -- he's saying that his record, his accomplishments, his leadership, merited a second term, but that was -- he doesn't acknowledge the reason behind the questions. But he says the existential threat that the country is facing in his view, merited him to step aside.
BASH: He said to unite my party part.
NIA-MALIKA HENDERSON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: To unite my party and this whole idea, he said, there's a time and a place where new voices, fresh voices, younger voices and that time is now, right? That was a forceful endorsement of Kamala Harris.
It's also interesting if you think about Kamala Harris' candidacy, one of the biggest thing she's facing is doubts, right? That a Black woman can win the highest office in the land.
In his closing remarks, his idea that a kid from Scranton with a stutter could make it all the way to the White House. It's also encouraging Americans to widen their imagination about who can ascend to the highest office.
TAPPER: And the way that he described her --
HENDERSON: Yes.
TAPPER: Tough.
HENDERSON: Exactly.
TAPPER: Smart.
HENDERSON: Experienced and an incredible partner. And he said history is in your hands. Nothing is beyond your capacity, including electing an African-American woman to the presidency.
TAPPER: So, you have probably, for the research for your book, listened to more Joe Biden's speeches than anyone other than perhaps Joe Biden.
OSNOS: I'd like to be alone. It's a good book.
TAPPER: So, what would you make of it? What did you think?
OSNOS: You know what was fascinating about it, Jake, was -- LBJ, when he dropped out, was very ambivalent about it. And let's be honest, Joe Biden is not completely at peace with this decision, but he is clear about it, and he was candid about it.
[20:25:08]
That's what was striking to me. It is going to be years while he works through this decision thinking, could it have gone another way? But he was completely clear about the stakes, about why he did it.
At one point, he said, you know, I gave my heart and soul to this. What he didn't say was he also gave his body. We could see it right there tonight. This is a man who was telling us and showing us that he is in the winter of his career, too.
And in that way, I think he gets to end it on the terms on which he started it, which is by saying, there is no graver threat that we have faced in the whole time I've been in politics and it is now in your hands.
It was in a sense of a moment of delivery, delivering it to his successor, then delivering it to all of us.
TAPPER: What does your reporting telling you about what actually convinced him? Because obviously, behind the scenes there were -- first of all, the voters have been saying, according to polls and focus groups for quite some time that they had concerns about his age.
And then we know that Speaker Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Hakeem Jeffries, George Clooney, like lots of people who have been integral to his campaign were saying, you have to stop.
What ultimately was the straw that broke the camel's back here?
OSNOS: It was the realization from people who he trusted, most importantly inside his circle, Mike Donilon, Steve Ricchetti, but also Nancy Pelosi to a degree that his political path had closed. The political path, not the biological personal chronological path.
He's probably still very unsure about that, but he is at his core, a political creature. And when he was told you're going to lose Virginia, New Mexico, places that the president -- you cannot lose those and win the presidency and you're going to hurt this place you love so much, Congress. For him, that became a completely inescapable problem.
HUNT: Yes, and you had me thinking about the point that you made right before we were coming on the air, this idea that whether or not his legacy is going to stand up in the way that he wanted to frame it tonight is going to depend on what happens in November because if in fact Kamala Harris, the presumptive nominee, loses to Donald Trump in November there are going to be so many questions for the Democratic Party to soul search about how they got to a point where they denied themselves a primary process, a crucible that could have produced perhaps a stronger candidate. The number of what ifs would just explode. Whereas, I think, you know, if what he clearly wants to set up here actually happens, there will be a lot of people who will view it in the selfless sort of heroic lens that he wants it to be viewed.
TAPPER: How much do you think we're going to see Joe Biden in the six months going forward, unless there is an actual ceasefire to announce in Gaza or some sort of major legislation.
Like, I don't think that dealing with, for instance, reporters have been the favorite part of his job.
HENDERSON: It used to be.
TAPPER: A very few -- well, when he was in the Senate.
HENDERSON: When he was in the Senate.
HUNT: Once upon a time, when I covered him in the Senate, he loved us very much.
HENDERSON: Yes.
TAPPER: Sure. But that as a general note, I mean, first of all, I think there will be a natural inclination for him to let Kamala Harris take -- Vice President Harris takes center stage, but beyond that, like how much do you think we're going to see him?
KING: I think that depends on how much he can get done. We're going to see him tomorrow in a very difficult conversation with the Israeli prime minister. You heard the president talking about NATO and trying to fight up for Ukraine.
Ukraine is on the ballot. America's role in the world is on the ballot, even though Joe Biden is not. So, when he sees the opportunities to Evan's point, he is a very proud man, an incredibly stubborn man.
We know he is mad about this and angry about this even if he has come to peace with the political math part of it. We know it stirs at him. So, what can he do to build his legacy? And again, again, if he's standing up for America and the world, domestically, there's nothing that can be done. The Congress isn't going to do anything.
Are there things he can do through executive action? He will look for those opportunities, but you're absolutely right. One of the issues, one of the reasons voters were way ahead of Washington in saying, is he up to the job? Is because he has been such a less visible president, way less visible than Donald Trump, but even less visible than past, even if you go before Trump who is ever present.
So, how will they -- I think, it's an interesting question for him and his staff. How do they choose those moments? When is it helpful to be out there? How much power do they give Harris over that?
The president wants to do this. Are you okay with that? None of us -- '68, I was a baby. Some of you weren't even born yet. TAPPER: All of us.
KING: So, we had never --
TAPPER: One of us, except for you.
KING: Yes, I was five. None of us have lived through this.
HENDERSON: Yes.
TAPPER: Yes.
KING: Where you have a sitting president who's not running, his vice president who is, and how do you work that?
HENDERSON: And he is still a beloved figure, right?
KING: Yes.
HENDERSON: Among some of these folks -- particularly older?
KING: What does he say at the convention?
HENDERSON: Yes. What does he say for --
KING: We're going to have a Democratic Convention with an incumbent president who is not running?
HENDERSON: Yes.
TAPPER: And he will, he will. Now, all the people that were -- that were pushing --
BASH: Yeah
TAPPER: -- publicly or privately are on social media embracing him, extolling him --
BASH: Yeah.
TAPPER: -- talking about how wonderful -- I'll come back to you.
BASH: Yeah, sure.
TAPPER: We got 15 hours of this.
BASH: I know.
(LAUGH)
TAPPER: Anderson, back to you.
[20:30:12]
COOPER: Jake, I was born in 1967. I can't believe I'm older than you. That's -- TAPPER: What are you talking about? Look at your hair, papa.
(LAUGH)
COOPER: Let's get back to the White House and CNN's MJ Lee. I understand you have some new reporting about the response the president received from his team in the White House.
MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Anderson, I don't know if you might be able to hear behind me, but from here at the south lawn where we are, we've been able to hear some loud applause coming from the Rose Garden. That is where we are told all know White House staff have gone out to greet the president. The first lady is there as well, and we could make out that the president was speaking to his staff on microphone.
I am told that they are going to celebrate by having ice cream, of course, the president being famous for his love of ice cream. But clearly, this is meant to be a real show of support by everyone in the White House for the president after the president just delivered what had to have been a really challenging speech after a very difficult period for him, politically speaking. And I know we were talking about this before the speech a little bit, but this really has been an incredibly emotional time for everyone in the building behind me.
I was talking to some folks and getting their reactions after the president's speech wrapped up, and one of them said that they were watching with their colleagues and a lot of them had tears in their eyes. They said that they felt like the speech was beautiful, that he really has given his heart and soul, and that he really is a good man is what one White House official said. Another senior White House official I spoke to said that they felt like it was a bittersweet speech to watch as he summed up the president, his achievements over the last three-and-a-half years, and saying that even still, all of that is really bigger than one person.
And they said that the last three weeks for them, this official, has it's been incredibly painful and they told me I'm just so glad that after all of that, he had the chance to argue for his legacy on his own terms.
COOPER: What do you expect the president's schedule to look like in the days and weeks ahead? I mean, is the White House going to add more public events to underscore that he is still on the job? He is going to be out campaigning for Harris?
LEE: Yeah. I mean, certainly, everything had been put on hold for so long now, ever since the president tested positive for COVID last Wednesday and then, as we were waiting for the president to go public with that decision over the weekend, we certainly do think that there is going to be a bit of a recalibration. We already know that there were some scheduling changes that were made to the end of this week when he was expected to do some political events and travel, that had been wiped clean from his political calendar.
But I think the two spaces to watch really are, what role does he have to play as he is now hoping that Vice President Kamala Harris will become the Democratic nominee and eventually defeat Donald Trump. He is now the most senior Democratic surrogate for the vice president, so will he really get out there and travel? And what kind of message will he have? How will he see himself as being the most useful as he campaigns for the vice president?
And then of course, the second bucket is the legacy. Is there going to be some kind of legacy tour where he really works on finishing the job that he has started, which is a phrase that he has used a lot. So, we do expect the travel to pick up. We do expect to see him more. But right now, it sounds like he is having some ice cream in the Rose Garden. Anderson?
COOPER: MJ Lee, thanks very much. "The Source with Kaitlan Collins" also joins us tonight. Kaitlan?
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, Anderson, thanks. I'm sitting here with Jeff Zeleny and Jamie Gangel. We were listening to the president deliver that speech inside the Oval Office. And Jeff, obviously, you and I both have covered the White House. The Oval Office isn't actually that large and I noticed that from the reporters in the room, there were 40 people in the room, including President Biden.
It was his children, Hunter and Ashley, his grandchildren, the first lady, and they said also Mike Donilon and Steve Ricchetti. Obviously, those -- if you've covered President Biden, those are two of his closest aides, the two people he summoned to his beach house on Saturday as he was making this final decision that culminated with address tonight.
JEFF ZELENY, CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: So poignant, of course, they were responsible for getting him over the line, to seeing what so many people in his party saw that he simply was going to be a weight on the ticket. But watching him in the Oval Office there, I was reminded of a speech he gave in the Rose Garden in 2015, when he stepped away from running for president that year, and President Obama was at his side. Dr. Biden was there as well and he said this was not his time. At that point, he thought he was leaving public life.
He was given the Medal of Honor by President Obama and he thought he was done with public life, but he had an amazing sort of return to the White House. So, I'm sure it's difficult for him to think of that in this moment now, but the fact that he served a year and came back -- or served a term and came back is really pretty extraordinary. But I was struck also at the end, this was largely about the country in him, but he also said, I've made my choice. This was not a campaign message or ad for Vice President Harris, but he endorsed her full square. So you know that that is where his mind is.
[20:35:00]
That is also part of his legacy if she is elected in November, and if she's not, he owns that as well.
JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Can I just quickly add? I talked to a source who helped with this speech and was talking about the underlying theme that Joe Biden wanted to get across. And the source said to me that he wanted it to be heartfelt; it certainly was that. But, that the most important thing was that country and democracy matter more than ambition. And President Biden isn't the only ambitious politician, that goes with the territory. But I think that you can't forget that he did not see this as an ordinary election. He saw this as a fight against Donald Trump, and that's why the word democracy and country (inaudible).
COLLINS: Obviously, he has the trappings of the Oval Office to make that push --
GANGEL: Correct.
COLLINS: -- for Vice President Harris, as we saw him do wholeheartedly there at the end, talking about how he believes she is capable. She is experienced, saying you know, essentially to the American voters, this is in your hands to make this decision. I've made mine, as you referenced Jeff, and this comes as -- we didn't see her. We didn't expect to see her. She's not even in Washington right now. She's out on the campaign trail, but it comes as she's making decisions on who is going to be serving with her if she is in his position.
ZELENY: This was moving so extraordinarily quickly, but we are told that Vice President Harris will have named her running mate in two weeks or less. She's campaigning tonight in Houston. My guess is she was watching this speech tonight. But she's narrowing her list, I mean, Democratic lawyers are now looking through the possible running mates.
So extraordinary that fewer than four years ago, four years ago next month, she got the call from Joe Biden to be his running mate. Now, she is going to make that call as well. We know that she's looking at governors, one senator, perhaps a cabinet secretary as well. So, she is going through all of this. But speaking of trappings of office, she now has the trappings of office when she's out campaigning --
COLLINS: Yeah.
ZELENY: I think the imagery that we are going to see, this is not her campaign of 2020 every measure, but it's also nothing that we've seen before as fact that her history-making candidacy being a woman, being a woman of color, seeing those young children, this is something that country has not witnessed. But the incredible turn of events, I'm told she will name vice president in less than two weeks time.
COLLINS: Yeah. And Biden using the Oval Office to push her, I mean, he's only given four Oval Office addresses in his entire presidency. His fourth one, I'm sure he didn't expect to be saying and urging the American people to vote for his vice president. You're already seeing the Trump campaign complain about the fact that he was using the Oval Office to do so. I mean, that is just a benefit that he has while being president. Trump held the Republican Convention on the south lawn.
But Jamie, this comes as we are watching this, where Trump is trying to really try out these new lines of attack on Vice President Harris. We saw it tonight in his first rally since she had this ascent towards being the presumptive Democratic nominee.
GANGEL: So -- and also, I just want to say, he mispronounces her name every single time. That is not by accident that he does it. He's trying to make her -- it's disrespectful -- the other for the world. Kamala rhymes with mama law (ph); it's not that hard to figure out. But just to go back to this fighting that started, this has really left the Trump campaign having to completely change their strategy. And her attack, where she says prosecutor versus felon, she has come out very hard or I know Donald Trump's type.
We know that former President Trump is very good at branding, attacking, and messaging. I think what we are seeing is that Vice President Harris is pretty good at it too.
COLLINS: Yeah. Anderson, obviously, quite a moment here as it is his fourth Oval Office address, but one where he is giving a completely unexpected address that he didn't expect to be delivering three weeks ago.
COOPER: Yeah. That's for sure. Kaitlan, thanks, joining me, the panel here. CNN political commentators, Alyssa Farah Griffin, Scott Jennings, and former Harris Communication Instructor Ashley Etienne. Alyssa, I mean, first of all, how do you think President Biden did and what do you think President Trump is going to -- what is he going to attack him on this one?
ALYSSA FARAH GRIFFIN, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATORS: Powerful and historic remarks, and I thought that the imagery of presence and really custodians of the Oval Office of the resolute desk that people vote in, but it will be passed to other people, reminding people, as Van said, the juxtaposition position to Donald Trump losing and refusing to leave. And this is somebody who has not like -- not yet lost and is willfully passing the torch to somebody. I think that will stick with people.
[20:40:00]
Donald Trump was watching on Air Force One -- I'm sorry, Trump Force One.
(LAUGH)
FARAH GRIFFIN: He put out an image of him watching. I think that the argument now is basically, Kamala Harris and Democrats took him out, the elites -- the Democratic elites stepped in to put someone more competitive and but that's not really a helpful message. I don't know that that resonates with Republicans. I think they need to start taking the case directly to Kamala Harris, and I imagine they'll stop talking about Joe Biden going forward.
COOPER: Scott?
SCOTT JENNINGS, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: It's odd to me that just a few weeks ago, heck a few days ago, most Democrats were still looking at television cameras and saying that this person is up to another four years. I mean, he's obviously running on fumes. They weren't cheap folks, no matter what the government told you. In fact, I still think it's a legitimate scandal how they ever arrived at the decision to run again in the first place.
I still think his family and his top staff have a lot of explaining to do. Most of this seemed like a stump speech to me. It seemed like he gave the speech that he always wanted the campaign to be about, which was he wants credit for this record that he thinks is historic and was not getting out of the campaign. I'm still shocked by the way at how easy it is to overthrow the president. I mean, I think of this office -- I think we all think of this office as being impenetrable.
He got 81 million votes in 2020, and then he get 14 million more. But at the end of the day, he was no match for a handful of party bosses who run the Democratic Party. So look, I'm happy to give them all the grace that he deserves because he's on his way out. But at the end of the day --
COOPER: Yeah, really sounds like that.
(LAUGH)
AXELROD: Yeah, that's coming next.
JENNINGS: A bunch of people -- a bunch of people looked into TV cameras over the last days, weeks, and months, and told you a lot of things, a lot of things that were not true about this president. I hope he is OK for the next few months, but it was obvious it was time, not tonight, but a while ago.
COOPER: Ashley, what did you think of talk tonight?
ASHLEY ETIENNE, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: You know, I think President Biden is beloved by so many here in this country and around the world. Those of us who've been able to work with him and who know him love him as a leader and who he is as a leader, what he represents. He will go down in history as one of the most effective presidents in American history, not just his record, but his love for this nation makes him, in my opinion, an object lesson and an inspiration for the next generation of leaders.
The line that I loved most was this one and that was this one and that was, and it makes me emotional just saying it, that the cause of the nation is larger than any one of us. And you contrast that with what we saw from Donald Trump today and from the Republican Party that has become a complete cult of personality, willing to give it all up, sacrifice it all for someone who says he wants to be a dictator on day one, that he wants to terminate the constitution, that he puts retribution ahead of the interests of the American people.
So to me, this is a really sad day and it makes me very emotional. But what's very clear and the president closed out on this note that the fight for the soul of our nation continues. But there are many of us who are saying, today, well done thy good and faithful servant.
COOPER: David, I want to play something else that the president said tonight. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BIDEN: I revere this office, but I love my country more. It's been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title. I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people.
But this sacred task of perfecting our union, it's not about me. It's about you, your families, your futures. It's about we, the people. We can never forget that, and I never have.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: It's so interesting to me (ph), David, listening to that and just the whole tone of the president tonight. You know, there was so much talk at the convention before Donald Trump actually spoke that the assassination attempt had changed him somehow.
AXELROD: Yeah.
COOPER: People were putting that word out. I think Scott was anticipating that as well.
AXELROD: 72 hours of grace.
COOPER: Yes. And clearly, that is not the case. In fact, (inaudible) rally, I think it was today or yesterday, he said I'm supposed to be nice. They say something happened to me when I got shot, I became nice. And then he went on to say, I'm not going to be nice.
AXELROD: And then displayed how he would not be nice (ph).
(LAUGH)
COOPER: But, here tonight, this man has had his entire career upended, the job he has looked for, this very difficult decision that he's made. And whatever he may feel personally about it and whatever anger he has expressed behind the scenes, which people have reported on, he had a lot of grace tonight.
[20:45:00]
AXELROD: Yeah, he did have a lot of grace. I just wanted to say, Scott, you're my friend, man, and I love you and I know you're a good person. You got to take a step back here and show the grace that you said you wanted to show. President wasn't toppled by party bosses; he was toppled by the reality of his situation. It was the American people who made a judgment. It was helped along by your party for five years, but --
(LAUGH)
AXELROD: -- they made a judgment and he recognized the judgment they made, and he decided that the stakes in this fight are such that he could better advance the cause that he believed him by stepping aside. That was a big thing to do and a hard thing to do. And I -- honestly, I'm going to give you some political advice that you're very, very good at this. I would step back and give him that grace tonight. I think the American people would want you to do that and you know, I just -- I certainly feel like he has earned it.
JONES: I think what's interesting about Biden is that he is tired. He has changed; he has changed even in the past couple of months. But he was more coherent, low-energy but more coherent than Trump ever is with high-energy. And so, I think part of the things that is hard for us on our side of the aisle to try to wrestle with is, everything he said make good sense. His voice was soft; he needs to retire; and he is retiring.
Donald Trump did a lot interview today. But almost everything he said make no sense.
(LAUGH)
JONES: And so, I think it's just that -- I think that's (inaudible).
FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, and I think we live in this polarized political moment where things are often are a Rorschach test because I'm looking at Twitter, seeing how I'm not where most of the Republican Party is. I'll fully admit that, but where most Republicans -- or how they're receiving this. And what they're saying is basically, it's an incredibly divisive speech. And to me I'd say, what about promoting democracy, passing the baton to the next generation of leadership, the nation being bigger than any one man and your ambitions is divisive. That may be more of a reflection of the leader that the Republican Party has chosen to follow. I don't think George Bush, your boss, would have found that to be a deeply divisive speech.
COOPER: How do you see this?
JENNINGS: I love you too, David, and I really do, and I respect you and I hear what you're saying. I think what you're asking Republicans to do is to overlook a lot of dishonesty that came right out of this White House, that came right out of the vice president, people who worked for him, his family, other Democrats, Democrats in Congress. You're asking the country to overlook a lot of dishonesty about Joe Biden's abilities, capabilities, his capacity to serve for another four years and so on.
COOPER: Are you talking about Biden or Trump?
(CROSSTALK)
JENNINGS: I'm talking about --
COOPER: Because, literally, Democrats make the same argument about Trump.
JENNINGS: I'm talking about Joe Biden. He arrived at this -- he did arrive at this decision with a little push, not just from the goodness of his own heart. But, you have to admit -- a little bit of a push -- a little bit of a push from the party bosses. AXELROD: He concluded that this was a -- the party bosses were reflecting, you know, the consensus of the American people who made a judgment. But Scott, I mean, I -- there are so many Republicans who I talked to, who are overlooking far more than this, and they'll tell you that about Donald Trump. I mean, that is really the story of the Republican Party right now. I said to you last week, the fact that the man you work for and who you revere and who you love was booed at the Republican Convention last week after devoting his entire life to the Republican Party reflects --
(CROSSTALK)
AXELROD: -- how totally this party is in the thrall of a guy who is morally and ethically challenged and who left the presidency. You talk about deposing a president, that's exactly what he tried to do, overturn a free and fair election. So, and a lot Republicans know that, they've said it and yet, they're setting that aside. So, I don't think you're on a -- you're not on a strong footing here in making this argument.
JENNINGS: Well, my argument is simply that when you're trying to make a judgment between two parties here, I fully and freely admit that both parties have warts, but we are acting like there's no warts on this situation. This is weird. He won the primary without a serious challenge. He told us all he could serve. His party told us he could serve. And he has clearly diminished and I think he ultimately arrived in the right spot, as you know, on the night of the debate, I said this candidacy has fallen.
He ultimately got here. But it was pretty torturous how they got here. And I think a lot of people burned a lot of credibility on the road to getting here.
AXELROD: Well, you should -- go ahead.
FARAH GRIFFIN: Well, I think it's tough to speak in binaries, but that's where we are at this point in this race.
[20:50:00]
And some of us were there when Donald Trump was being told by advisers consistently, you lost, you need to concede. There's no way that Vice President Pence could change the results of this outcome. And he still refused to, and still allowed the events of January 6 to unfold. So I think if you're even comparing the two, it's so, so far apart. Not to suggest Democrats were incredibly untransparent (ph) about that. I think that there was a lot of gas-lighting, a lot of misleading the public about his shape. But it's just -- it's such a world apart those two.
COOPER: By the way, we have just gotten some pictures. I think -- I haven't seen them yet, but I believe they were taken during the president's remarks. You can see against the wall, his family there, watching him by his side. And that's tough, man, that's tough. Kate?
BEDINGFIELD: Yeah. Well, look, I mean, I think ultimately, Joe Biden made the right and also I think everyone would agree -- maybe Scott wouldn't agree, but I think most people would agree, selfless decision to step down. And I think to Alyssa's point, yes, speaking in binaries is hard, but to suggest that somehow the Democratic Party has been opaque about this when what ultimately happened is Democrats had a very public, painful discussion about all of this.
And Joe Biden didn't have to step down. It's his office to relinquish. It is his nomination to relinquish. And he chose to make that decision in service of a belief that the country and our democracy is more valuable than his own personal ambition. And when you have not only Donald Trump refusing to accept that he lost the election in 2020, but then the leadership of the Republican Party standing behind him, and you want to talk about people going out to cameras and saying things they know aren't true?
I mean, my God, you've had a parade of the Republican Party for four years arguing that you didn't see what you saw, you didn't -- Donald Trump didn't actually abet these people going -- taking up arms and going into the Capitol. So ultimately, can I just?
COOPER: We could -- we are going to continue this a little bit later (ph).
BEDINGFIELD: Ultimately, you have somebody in President Biden who made a decision that is about loving his country. And you have somebody in Donald Trump who said I only love me.
COOPER: We'll continue the discussion in a moment. I want to go to Kaitlan.
COLLINS: Thanks, Anderson. I've got a close ally of President Biden's here. Joining me, Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota, who has known President Biden since her first days in the Senate. Senator, just for you to listen to that Oval Office address from the president tonight, only his fourth since taking office, but explaining his exit from the 2024 race, what stood out to you?
SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): Well, thanks, Kaitlan. I was listening, rapt listening to all of you and I was thinking like, there will be books and movies written about these last few months, maybe some of you will write them. But in the end, what the president did today is remind us of why America voted for him in the first place. He started by taking on the defense of our democracy.
I was there on that inaugural stage when he got sworn in. I was there on January 6 and made that walk over the broken glass at three in the morning. That's where we were when he took over and he has defended and cherished that democracy. And what he talked about tonight is that we, once again, are now passing the torch to Kamala Harris, yes, but also to the American people because he quoted Benjamin Franklin and said, it's a Republic if you can keep it.
And I thought it was actually a beautiful speech because he did sum on his accomplishments, of which there are many. The Infrastructure Bill, the incredible work he's done in bringing back the rule of law, Ketanji Brown Jackson. The work he has done in uniting and building on NATO, but he also really focused on one thing and that was our democracy and the risk to our democracy. I didn't find it one bit divisive. I thought that was funny to hear, that's what the Republicans were attacking him on. It wasn't divisive. It was a man saying, this is what I've done, but now, it's on you and I'm passing on that torch. I thought it was really beautiful.
COLLINS: When you hear him talk about passing the torch to the next generation, it reminded me of when, in 2020, he promised to be a bridge then and then of course, explained running initially for a second term saying his experience, what had happened his four years in office warranted that. And I wonder if you think, given Harris now has 100 days to run this presidential campaign, if it would have been potential (inaudible).
(CROSSTALK)
KLOBUCHAR: 105, Kaitlan.
COLLINS: A 105, yeah. I know you'll take every day you could get, but if it would have been maybe more beneficial for your party if this has happened sooner?
KLOBUCHAR: You know, again, we only have 105 days. As I just pointed out, we can't be looking in the rearview mirror the whole time. One of the things that's kind of extraordinary here, yes, we could have had a primary. Yes, a lot of people may have run, I don't know. But the party has unified and we are bringing moderate Republicans and independents.
[20:55:00]
I was on a call -- Governor Moore and I -- Wes Moore did a call and within 24 hours, 500 people joined this call today. I think people are looking for the future and they see this. I know this from talking can to younger people in our state, they just came up to young people who were stranded in the airport like me. The last few nights, they were working behind pizza counters. They were sitting on the sides and they were excited. And I think that's where you're going to start see showing up in the polls.
A generational change, and the fact that however messy it was and however sad it was, and however difficult it was, we have gotten to a point of unity where she is raking in, in small contributions, the most historic amount of money in 24 hours that we've ever seen. I don't know, it's well over $100 million. Getting in volunteers, we've had hundreds of people call our Minnesota State Party to volunteer that weren't volunteering before. Many countries have quicker elections in this, so she will pull this off in 105 day.
She is one resilient and strong person. I know; I ran against her. I was on that stage and she is keeping her head high. Patty Murray said it best to me today. She said that Joe Biden once came into her state and she was in this incredibly close election. And he said to her, you know what, you're going to win. And she said, honestly, why do you think I'm going to win? All the polls are tied. And he said, because your shoulders are up, your shoulders are strong. And I thought about this because Kamala Harris has a really good posture.
COLLINS: Senator Klobuchar, we'll see what -- 105 days, as you noted, thank you for joining us tonight.
KLOBUCHAR: Thank you, everyone. See you.
COLLINS: And I'm back here with Jeff Zeleny and Jamie Gangel. And you hear Senator Klobuchar talking about what this -- these next 105 days are going to look like. And President Biden said something, it was one of his first lines. He asked if character still matters in public life, and I was just thinking, watching Trump's rally tonight where he was attacking Harris and he said that she was "The ultra liberal driving force behind every Biden -- every single Biden catastrophe." I mean, he is going to try to tie her so closely to the man who just put his full weight of the Oval Office behind her.
ZELENY: He absolutely is. And look, what we are seeing here is a race to define Vice President Kamala Harris. Even though she has been in the public life for quite awhile, there's a new moment to define her. That's what former president Donald Trump is doing. That, of course, is what the Harris campaign is trying to do. It's one of the reasons they are moving very fast to pick a running mate, so they can get on with this because there is not much time here.
But Senator Klobuchar talking about the primary, you were asking her about that, that was one of the biggest fears inside the White House. The age we would talk to constantly, worried about President Biden facing a primary challenge last year, they avoided that and they thought that they were home-free essentially. It didn't quite turn out that way. But what also didn't turn out, there is not an open convention. We are not going to see that.
Democrats are as united tonight as Republicans were last week. And it is so extraordinary that turnaround.
COLLINS: Yeah. And The New York Times had reported in the days leading up to Biden's exit before he decided to, that he did have concerns about whether Harris could defeat Donald Trump. Obviously, it's an unknown. You couldn't really predict at that point. It still is an unknown, Jamie?
GANGEL: Right. Look, we know that there were looking at lots of polling. There was a lot of flash polling going on. But to Jeff's point, I'm not sure that you can make a time in history where the Democratic Party has been this unified.
ZELENY: Right.
GANGEL: This is the opposite of what they do. There's something else the Trump campaign is going to face, and that is the unknown of who she picks for her vice president. That will -- I we've already heard some rumors that maybe there is some bias (ph) remorse about J.D. Vance. They are very carefully doing this vetting process, as carefully as you can do it in just two weeks, which is -- some Republicans will tell you don't want another Sarah Palin. So, they're trying to do it quickly. But one note, I spoke to a source close to the Harris campaign who said, after Eric Holder and the lawyers do their vetting, Kamala Harris is going to do her vetting and she will press and press and press, ask question after question. That is her MO; that is her role as a prosecutor. And that she will have a big hand in doing this, and that they are very aware of wanting someone who will round out the ticket and someone who will know how to handle Trump and J.D. Vance.
COLLINS: I mean, just what Jeff was earlier, that was August 11 -- did you say?
ZELENY: August 11.
COLLINS: -- 2020 that we saw the video where she got the call from President Biden, then candidate Biden, asking her to be on his ticket. To be in this position now, selecting her VP is an important decision. It's not the only decision; she has a lot of -- 105 days is not a lot of time to run a presidential campaign.
