US President Biden says he is passing the torch to new generation to unite country
Washington (PTI): US President Joe Biden has said his decision to step aside from the 2024 presidential race and endorse Kamala Harris as the Democratic Presidential nominee was an act aimed at unifying the nation and passing “the torch to a new generation.”
The prime-time speech marked the first time Biden had spoken directly to the American people on-camera since his announcement three days ago that he was stepping away from the campaign trail.
“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 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,” an emotional Biden said in the rare Oval Office address on Wednesday.
Biden, 81, said he revered the President's Office but he loved his country more.
"It's been the honour of my life to serve as president but in the defense of democracy, which is at stake, I think it's more important than any title," he said.
"I believe my record as president, my leadership in the world, my vision for America's future all merited a second term," Biden said.
"But nothing, nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition, so I've decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation."
On Vice President Harris, Biden said she is "experienced, she's tough, she's capable" and called her an "incredible partner" during their three-and-a-half years together.
"I've made my choice. I've made my views known … Now, the choice is up to you, the American people," he said.
Biden continued to emphasise what he believes is at risk this election, which he's repeatedly cast as an "inflection point" to save the nation's founding principles.
"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," he said. "And that's still the case."
“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 the fate of our nation and the world for decades to come,” he said.
Harris, 59, who is of Indian and African origin, has now emerged as the presumptive presidential nominee of the Democratic Party.
He was surrounded by First Lady Jill Biden, his son Hunter Biden and several family members. Toward the end of remarks, Ashley Biden reached for the hand of her mother, Jill Biden, who was seated next to her.
After the president concluded his remarks, Jill Biden walked to the Resolute Desk and stood next to her husband.
Harris watched Biden’s Address to the Nation from Houston, where she is spending the night after visiting the city’s Emergency Operations Center to receive a briefing on the ongoing recovery efforts following Hurricane Beryl.
Biden in his remarks said that 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,” he said.
Biden also looked ahead to what he still hopes to do in these final six months. He zeroed in on the need to address gun violence, and climate change, continuing to improve the economy and reforming the US Supreme Court.
“That means I'll continue to lower costs for hard-working families, grow our economy, and 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, and 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,” he said.
Biden said he was 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,” he said.
“I'll keep doing the same for allies in the Pacific. When I came to office, the conventional wisdom was that China would inevitably surpass the United States. That's not the case anymore. 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,” said the president.
Biden said in just a few months, the American people will choose the course of America's future.
Biden, who initially resisted calls to step aside and insisted he was the best person to take on Donald Trump, said he now believes a new path is necessary.
The president did not address ongoing Republican criticisms about his fitness to serve. The White House earlier Wednesday had said his health had "nothing" to do with his decision.
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Mathura boat capsize tragedy: Death toll climbs to 13
Mathura (UP)(PTI): With the recovery of two more bodies on Sunday, the death toll in the boat capsize incident in the Yamuna river in Mathura has climbed to 13, officials said on Sunday.
Search for three more missing persons is underway.
Superintendent of Police (Rural) Suresh Chandra Rawat said renewed search efforts led to the recovery of the body of a college student, identified as Dinki Bansal, near Devraha Baba Ghat and that of a man identified as Rishabh Sharma approximately 3 km away from the accident site.
The incident occurred on Friday afternoon when a boat carrying over two dozen tourists, primarily from Punjab, hit a floating drum of a pontoon bridge and capsized near Kesi Ghat in Vrindavan.
Most of the victims were from Jagraon and Dugri areas of Ludhiana district.
Teams from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) and State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) along with the district administration and local police were actively engaged in the search for the missing pilgrims.
However, strong currents of the Yamuna river and the significant depth of the water at the ghats are proving a hindrance.
Circle Officer (Mant) Sandeep Singh said the Yamuna river stretch extending from Keshi Ghat to Gokul Barrage has been divided into seven sectors.
The search for the missing individuals will now be conducted within this specific 20-square-km zone. A Station House Officer (SHO) has been designated as the in-charge for each sector.
Acting on the orders of the DIG (Agra Range), seven SHOs will oversee operations across the seven sectors of river Yamuna.
Giving details about the operation, Additional District Magistrate (Finance and Revenue) Pankaj Kumar Verma, citing NDRF officials, on Saturday had said although the search for the missing persons is currently focused within a 14-km radius from the spot where the boat had capsized, there is a possibility that they may have been swept much further downstream.
SHO of Vrindavan police station Sanjay Pandey said boat operator Pappu was arrested late on Friday night.
He is accused of failing to provide life jackets to passengers before allowing them to board the boat, and operating the boat at high speed. This resulted in the boat losing control and colliding with a pontoon bridge's drum, which led to the accident, officials said.
Police have registered a case and also arrested the contractor, Narayan Sharma, responsible for the repair work on the pontoon bridge.
Rawat said that on Friday evening, police registered a case under section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) against the boatman Pappu (alias Dauji) and Sharma, and subsequently arrested them.
According to the case details, Pappu's boat did not have any safety equipment or provisions whatsoever.
Moreover, despite repeated pleas from pilgrims, Pappu operated the boat at high speed. By the time he realised the danger upon approaching the pontoons of the bridge, it was already too late.
Consequently, after colliding with a pontoon drum, the boat lost control and capsized. It has also come to light that he is among those operators who have not obtained the requisite license to operate a boat.
Sharma was carrying out the work of dismantling and reassembling the pontoon bridge without providing any prior notification.
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