Obama Praises Biden After Pushing For Him To Leave Race: He Put ‘His Own Ambition Aside For The Sake Of The Country’

Former President Barack Obama paid tribute to his former vice president and current President Joe Biden on Tuesday night, saying in his address at the Democratic National Convention that Biden exited the 2024 race “for the sake of the country.”

Obama, who just a month ago reportedly pushed for Biden to end his campaign, said during his speech that the president “was selfless enough to do the rarest thing there is in politics” when Biden announced on July 21 that he was stepping aside and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democrats’ nominee.

“At a time when the other party had turned into a cult of personality, we needed a leader who was steady and brought people together,” Obama said, referring to Biden. “And was selfless enough to do the rarest thing there is in politics, putting his own ambition aside for the sake of the country.”

“History will remember Joe Biden as an outstanding president who defended democracy at a moment of great danger,” Obama added. “And I am proud to call him my president, but I am even prouder to call him my friend.”

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Obama also praised the Biden-Harris administration’s handling of the economy and the COVID pandemic. Biden was in California while Obama spoke at the DNC in Chicago. The 81-year-old president and first lady Jill Biden boarded a plane for a West Coast vacation shortly after Biden gave his keynote address at the DNC late Monday night.

Just days before Biden announced he was dropping out, the Associated Press reported that Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) were expressing concerns to Democratic allies about Biden continuing to run for re-election following his disastrous June 27 debate against former President Donald Trump. The AP cited “information from almost a dozen people” who discussed Obama’s role in urging Biden to leave the race. The Washington Post also reported that Obama was telling his allies, including Pelosi, that he was concerned about Biden’s path to victory.

In an early morning post nearly a week after Biden dropped out and endorsed Harris, Obama also got behind the Harris campaign, writing, “Earlier this week, Michelle and I called our friend Kamala Harris. We told her we think she’ll make a fantastic President of the United States, and that she has our full support. At this critical moment for our country, we’re going to do everything we can to make sure she wins in November. We hope you’ll join us.”

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On Monday, Pelosi declined to confirm or deny if she had spoken with Biden after reportedly pushing for him to end his campaign.

“Sometimes you have to take a punch for the children. I did what I had to do,” she said. “My concern was not about the president, it was about his campaign.”

CNN’s Chris Wallace blasted Democrats at the DNC for attempting to pay homage to Biden.

“There’s going to be a lot of talk tonight about how generous it was of him and and selfless of him. He was basically forced out by Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama and Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries,” Wallace said on Monday. “And I suspect even the fact that there has been this surge of enthusiasm since he left and Kamala Harris took his place — that’s got to be pretty tough, too. You got thrown out of a window, and everybody’s applauding the person who’s now in the room.”