President Joe Biden bid farewell to politics Monday in an emotional and lengthy speech to the Democrats who pushed him off the 2024 ticket, acknowledging his age was the driving factor.
An overflowing audience on the first night of the Democratic National Committee chanted “we love Joe” and held signs that read the same with heart emojis. Biden replied, “America, I love you.”
He arrived on the stage in tears after his daughter, Ashley, introduced him as “the OG girl dad.” He held his daughter, a criminal justice social worker in Philadelphia, in a long embrace. He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped his eyes as attendees gave their loudest cheers of the night. Biden had to wait almost five minutes to begin in earnest.