and weeks of a presidential campaign they are not usually a moment of real legislative achievement sue -- so not sure there's much you can do with congress. you can bomb iran if he wants to there's a lot he could do on the foreign policy and defence i'd. not much you can do on the domestic side apart from... which lasts only until his presidency is over. >> standby if you would appear key if you look at the white house it's a celebratory mood there's a marching band out in the square out front. there's a watch party for aids with pizza inside. the first time he spoke about abandoning his presidential campaign, we have the entire speech and analysis right after that. we pause here to start our show. [ ♪♪ ]

>> we are awaiting the address to the nation, biden's first since dropping out of the presidential race. good evening i'm brett barrett live at the white house. >> i'm martha maccallum here in new york president biden is expected to explain his reasoning for the ending of his reelection effort, you will also outline what he intends to do in the final months that he has. 107 days left in office. >> we have seen some speech experts -- excerpts so far. one of them has them saying that defending democracy is more important than any type. >> the great thing about america is kings and dictators do not rule the people do. we will have a complete analysis after this address and just a quick once around, your thoughts as we wait. >> we only heard from

the president about a week ago when he addressed the failed assassination attempt on former president donald trump and he is at a point in his life right now where he doesn't communicate as well as he used to. he wants to stick the landing here. do hope the best for him because he has been a public servant and he deserved to lead with dignity >> we will be with the panel in just a minute. we go inside the oval office, president joe biden. >> my fellow americans. i'm speaking to you tonight from behind the desk in the oval office. this sacred space surrounded by portraits of extraordinary american presidents, thomas jefferson, he wrote the words that guide this nation. george washington showed us presidents are not kings. abraham lincoln implored us to reject malice, franklin roosevelt inspired us to reject fear.

i love my country more. it's been the honour of my life to serve as your president. in the defence of democracy, which is at stake, i it's more important than any title. i draw strength and find joy in working for the american people. but this sacred task of perfecting our union is not about me, it's about you. your families, your futures. it's about we the people. and we can never forget that. and i never have. i've made it clear that i believe america is at an inflection point. on those rare moments in history when the decisions we make now determine our fate for our nation and the world for decades to come, america is going to have to choose between moving forward or backward. between hope and hate, between unity and a division.

we are going to 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, can we do that? does character in public life still matter? i know you the american people and i know this. we are a great nation because we are a good people. when you elected me to this office, i promised to always level with you, to tell you the truth. the sacred cause of this country is larger than anyone of us. those who chariot that cause cherish it so much. we must unite to protect it.

in recent weeks it's become clear to me that i need to unite my party in this critical endeavour. i believe my record as president , my leadership in the world, my vision for america's future, all merited a second term. nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. that includes personal ambition. i decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation. it's the best way to unite our nation. i know there was a time and a place... there's also a time and place for new voices, fresh voices, yet younger voices. that time and place is now. over the next six months i will be focused on doing my job as president.

that means i will continue to lower costs for hard-working families, or grow our economy. i will keep defending our personal freedoms and civil rights for the right to vote to the right to choose. i will keep coming out hate and extremism, making clear there is 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 as an accidental threat. i will keep fighting for my... because we can do it. i'm going to call for supreme court reform because this is critical to our democracy, supreme court reform. i will keep working to ensure america remains strong, secure and the leader of the free world.

on the first president of the century's report to the american people that united states is not at war anywhere in the world. we will rally the coalition to stop prudent from taking over in ukraine. we will make nato more powerful and more united than any time in all of our history. i will keep doing the same for our allies in the pacific. 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. and bring peace and security to the middle east and end this war. we are working around the clock to bring americans all around the world... we've come so far since my inauguration.

on that day i told you we are stood in a winter apparel with possibilities. we were in... the worst economic crisis since the great depression. the worst attack on our democracy since the civil war. we came together as americans. we got threw it. we emerged stronger, more prosperous and more secure. today we have the strongest economy in the world creating nearly 16 million new jobs. wages are up, inflation continues to come down, the wealth gap is the lowest it's been in 20 years. we are literally rebuilding our entire nation. manufacturing has come back to america. we are leading the world in science and innovation.

we finally beat big pharma after all these years to lower the cost of prescription drugs for seniors. and i'm going to keep fighting to make sure we lower the cost for everyone, not just seniors. more people have healthcare today than ever before. i signed one of the most significant laws helping millions of veterans and their families who were exposed to toxic materials. most significant climate law in the history of the world. the first major gun safety law and 30 years. today the crime rate is at a 50 year low. we are also securing our border. border crossings are lower today than when the previous administration left office. i kept my commitment to appoint the first black woman to the supreme court of the united states of america. i also kept my commitment to keep in a ministration that looks like america. a president for all americans. that's what i've done.

i ran for president four years ago because i believed... the very nature of who we are was at stake. that is still the case. america is an idea. idea stronger than any army, bigger than any ocean, more powerful than any dictator or tyrant. the most powerful idea in the history of the world. we hold these truths to be self-evident. we are all treated equal. endowed with certain inalienable rights, life, liberty, the pursuit of happyness. we've never walked away from it. i do not believe the american people will walk away from it now. just a few months, the american people will choose the course of america's future. i made my choice. i made my views known.

i would like to thank our great vice president kamala harris, she is experienced, tough, capable. she's been an incredible partner to me and a leader for our country. now the choice is up to you, the american people. make that choice and i have the words of benjamin franklin on the wall here alongside the busts of... when ben franklin was asked as he emerged from the convention going on where the founders have given america a modern republic, the response was a republic, if you can keep it. a republic if you can keep it. whether we keep our republic is in your hands. my fellow americans, it's been the privilege of my life to

serve this nation for over 50 years. nowhere else on earth could a kid with a stutter from modest beginnings one-day set behind the president desk in the oval office as president of the united states and here i am. that's what's so special about america. we are a nation of promise and possibilities. of dreamers and doers. ordinary americans doing extraordinary things. i've given my heart and my sole to the nation like so many others. been blessed a million times and return with the love and support of the american people. i hope you have some idea how grateful i am to all of you. great thing about america is here, kings and dictators do not rule but people do. history is in your hands. the powers in your hands.

the idea of america lies in your hands. you just have to keep faith and keep the faith and remember who we are. we are the united states of america and there was simply nothing beyond our capacity will me do it together. so let's act together, preserve our democracy, god bless you all and may god protect our troops. thank you. >> looking well after about with covid, still with a soft, readily voice saying he draws strength and finds joy working for the american people but also that it's not about him. he said nothing can stand in the way of saving our democracy including presidential ambition. he has chosen not to run again. he said there's a time and place for new voices, younger voices but he didn't talk about the 14 plus million democrats who voted for him in the primaries and caucuses.

didn't talk about his health, didn't talk about his party pushing back and just days ago saying he would be the nominee of his party. but he did talk about vice president harris, the presumptive nominee heading in to their convention in chicago. >> martha: we didn't get that many details about what went into this decision. we know that he made it very quickly on sunday afternoon. we were told that by his press secretary earlier today but he said i revere this office but i love my country more. he did appear to be kind of tan and rested and it makes you wonder weather there is an element of relief now that this decision is really sinking in for the 46th president of the united states. it was a list of the things that he felt our compliments for a while but he said that kamala harris' topic and has been an incredible partner to me and is grateful for all of you in

america. so let's go around the panel and get a sense of everyone's reaction to this speech. brit let's begin with you. >> he was fine with running for reelection, thought he could win the race and served for four more years until sometime between saturday night and sunday morning when it dawned on him that it was time for a new generation of leaders. something escaped his notice, then he got up on sunday and decided he would turn every thing over to this new generation led by kamala harris. there was enough mention of democracy and the sacredness of it to guess that it was more than a political -- more than a little political motivation because that has been such a theme of his and kamala harris election program. it was quite a conversion overnight it seems if you believe it. i'm not sure i do.

>> bret: your party has now fired up, ready to go it seems with vice president harris, i want to give you some colour from inside the oval office. ceded to the president left in the oval office were family members, dr jill biden, ashley biden, the... and for the good part of the speech, ashley biden had her eyes closed nodding silently, breathing deeply as her father spoke as she dabbed her eyes with her shirt a couple of times this is an emotional time, he is still going to be president and republicans say there's a problem with that. >> i'm so glad you shared who was in the office with him

because i think it's important for everyone to know how emotional and how much gratitude they have and he has. i'm reminded as brit said that this is -- this sounded like a convention acceptance speech. he recited his accomplishments, talked about his service. talked about how he got where he has and he got a little campaigning as well which people give him the benefit of the doubt on that. i'm a christian and my faith means a lot to me. as i heard him speaking, all i could think was there is a season for everything. there was a season for him to think about running for office, there was a season to run and a season to win and even as vice president and president. now there's a season for him to pass the torch. we may not get the answers to the questions and we may deserve them but we may not get them. what we do know is this is an american who loves his country. you may disagree with him but one thing you can't disagree with is that this is a guy who

gave it his all and will give it his all over the next six months and hopefully the lord gives him the strength to do that. >> martha: he said when a kid with a stutter can make it all the way to the resolute desk at the white house, he also fixed a couple of things that had maybe not been said that way he wanted to in prior. he said we finally beat big pharma which i think was what he meant to say when he said we beat medicare and he talked about the first black woman on the supreme court. also something that got a little bit garbled. kind of a redo here in some ways and perhaps this is the speech he would've given. >> i really wanted to love the speech. i wanted to be happy for him, i wanted to say good for you and i wanted to feel reassured that he has got what it takes to get us through the next six months. people really wanted to know what happened in the last three weeks. this speech was like a mini state of the union. it was like something he could have given in january of 25.

at rank hollow for me, it did not answer any of those questions and i do not think that it helps kamala harris as she tries to make some sort of a break with him as she tries to get this nomination and tried to beat donald trump. it's going to be very difficult for her to do so. he's got six months left and there's a lot of problems in this country. he said he's going to fix all of them so we will see how that goes. >> bret: tomorrow marks four weeks since that debate where he walked out there, said the first few words, mangled some of his sentences and caught everybody by surprise as far as that moment. the party than jumped and everything transpired after that. this marks two weeks almost to the assassination attempt of the former president. thank of all that has transpired in this four weeks of history, realtime. it's almost hard to digest. >> it's an extraordinary period of news as i can remember other than well more than half a

century in terms of news, this is the most tumultuous period i can think of. i think we all look back on this ... it will be seen as inevitable wants that debate happens that he would have to step aside and someone else would have to come forward. the signs are all aligned for her to become his successor at least as candidate for president. i think that's where we are. the debate happened and everything else flowed from it except for one thing and that was the attempted murder of donald trump. >> martha: while they campaigned together and how much will bc the president after this? >> i think the lead-in from brett with the idea that he had to scramble just to fend off a russian effort there. you are going to see