President Joe Biden pleaded for American unity as he addressed the nation on Thursday amid a postelection slew of finger-pointing and backlash as Democrats seek answers on Kamala Harris’ loss.
In a speech from the White House that lasted about seven minutes, Biden echoed many of the same optimistic calls for Americans to move forward that Harris made in her concession speech.
“You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree,” he said.
Harris’ speech was tinged with similar notes of hope. She urged her supporters to accept the election results and added that she spoke with Donald Trump to discuss a peaceful transfer of power.
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Biden said the same thing.
“Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory. I assured him that I’d direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition,” he said.
Many in the Democratic Party have pinned the loss on Biden and his initial decision to run for reelection, faulting the president for not dropping out sooner. And others, like Sen. Bernie Sanders, lambasted the party as a whole for having “abandoned working class people.” Strategists pointed to the campaign’s — and the party’s — failure to do enough to win over suburban and rural voters.
Biden avoided responding to any of these points. Instead, he praised Harris.
“She has a backbone like a ramrod,” he said of the vice president.
Aside from a brief call for Americans to “lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system,” Biden didn’t talk much about Trump, Republicans or the partisan disputes and election misinformation that defined the lead-up to Election Day.
Rather, he focused on himself, ending his short remarks by discussing the remaining 74 days of his presidency. He mostly avoided specific policy references but cited the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal passed under his administration, saying its impacts will be felt over the next 10 years.
“There’s so much we can get done and we will get done based on the way the legislation was passed, and it’s truly historic,” he said.
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Shifra Dayak is a NOTUS reporter and an Allbritton Journalism Institute fellow.
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