AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — President Joe Biden wrapped up his campaign rally with a speech Monday at the Johnson Presidential Library aimed at cementing his legacy.
Just over a week after dropping out of this year's election, Biden commemorated the 60th anniversary of the passage of the Civil Rights Act by touting the rule of law and democratic principles, while also warning of the threat posed by Republican Donald Trump if he were to return to the White House.
“No one is above the law,” Biden said.
After denounced Trump, Biden expressed nostalgia for his early days of political activism under Martin Luther King Jr., John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Baines Johnson.
It's a story he's told before — how he became a public defender and was hounded by Delaware leaders to run for the U.S. Senate — but it has taken on new resonance as he looks toward the final six months of his political career.
“I got engaged just like all of you … when you get engaged you want to change things,” he said.
The occasion took on special resonance: Biden spoke in a library dedicated to Johnson, the last president to, like Biden, choose not to seek reelection.
In his speech, Biden called for: Supreme Court Reform Those proposals include term limits for judges, enforceable ethics rules and a constitutional amendment to limit presidential immunity. But Biden's proposals are unlikely to pass the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, making him a largely symbolic stand for a cause he fought for during his time in public office.
Biden was forced to cancel the trip after contracting COVID-19, and it took two weeks for it to be rescheduled, but in the meantime the Texas visit has taken on an entirely different symbolism.
The speech, originally scheduled for July 15, was held after Biden was previously the White House Save a sinking presidential campaign The speech was delivered in the district of 15-term Rep. Lloyd Doggett, the first Democrat to publicly call for Biden to step down.
Two weeks later, the political landscape has changed. Biden has dropped out of the race. Vice President Kamala Harris He is likely to be the Democratic nominee. He will be president for the next four years, not the next four years. Achievements from his first year in office and the future of democracy.
Doggett was among the lawmakers, civil rights activists and others who greeted Biden after he arrived in Austin on Monday, where the president and the Texas congressman shook hands and spoke briefly.
In his speech, Biden called Harris a “great partner” and said she would “continue to be an inspiring leader.”
No sitting US president has ever dropped out of a campaign as late as Biden, except for Johnson, who announced in March 1968 at the height of the Vietnam War that he would not seek reelection.
Biden has been frequently compared to Johnson recently. They told the nation: Both men explained their decisions in the Oval Office, after facing pressure from within their own parties to step down and ultimately receiving praise for doing so.
But the reasons were quite different: Johnson spoke at length about the need to step back in the heat of the war and focus on the conflict. Biden, 81, had every intention. He had no intention of seeking reelection until his shaky performance in the June 27 debate raised concerns within his party about his age and mental fitness and whether he could win. Trump.
Biden, especially former President Efforts to reverse this in 2020 The election results he lost His continued lies about that loss. The president said his decision to withdraw from the race was motivated by the need to unite the party in safeguarding democracy.
“I've decided the best way to move forward is to pass the baton to a new generation. That's the best way to unite our country,” Biden said in an Oval Office speech. “Nothing, nothing can get in the way of protecting our democracy, including individual ambition.”
Biden has often made fairness and civil rights a top priority during his presidency, including in his selection of his vice president. Harris is the first womanShe would be the first Black and South Asian person to hold the presidency, and potentially the first woman to be elected president.
The Biden administration has worked to combat racial discrimination in the real estate market, pardoning thousands of people convicted of federal marijuana charges that have disproportionately affected people of color and providing federal funding to reconnect urban neighborhoods. Road construction led to racial segregation and divisionHe also invested billions of dollars in historically black colleges and universities.
Johnson says his efforts are about moving the country forward and preventing efforts to undermine the landmark law he signed in 1964, one of the most significant civil rights achievements in U.S. history.
The law made it illegal to discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin. It was enacted to eliminate discrimination in schools, workplaces, and public accommodations, and prohibited the unequal application of voter registration requirements.
Johnson signed the bill five hours after Parliament approved it, saying the nation was in “testing times” that “cannot fail.” He added: “Let us shut down the source of racial poison. Let us pray for wise and understanding hearts. Let us set aside irrelevant differences and unite our nation.”
Biden said he was “determined to get everything done” in his remaining six months in office, including signing a major bill to expand voting rights and a federal police bill named after George Floyd.
“From the right to vote to the right to choose, we will continue to defend our individual liberties and civil rights,” Biden said in the Oval Office. “We will continue to condemn hate and extremism and make clear that there is no place in America for political violence or any kind of violence.”
Biden is scheduled to visit Houston later Monday to pay tribute to the late Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who died July 19 at age 74.
