JOE-VER AND OUT
Joe Biden’s legacy-ending speech sends Democrats’ meltdown into overdrive as even CNN turns on president
Biden claimed that he was leaving office with the economy far stronger than when he took office
PRESIDENT Joe Biden has been slammed for tarnishing his own legacy following his speech after Tuesday's presidential election saw Donald Trump return to the White House.
The president was speaking in the Rose Garden after his vice president, Kamala Harris, suffered a heavy defeat in the election, and appears to be on course to lose every swing state to Trump.
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Biden praised Harris during his brief address from the White House and promised an orderly transition of power in January.
But he was slammed by mainstream media outlets, with even CNN claiming he had tarnished his own legacy.
Shermichael Singleton, a CNN contributor who has worked on three different campaigns, warned that the Democrats needed to do a great deal of soul-searching.
"The Democratic Party of the past is no longer the Democratic Party of today," he said.
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He also called out Biden's claims that he was leaving office with the economy far stronger than when he took office, especially in rural areas where Trump's vote was highest.
"Economic dislocation is still a very real thing," he said.
"It's why, I would argue, a vast majority of people voted for Trump over the Vice President.
"I think it's why Donald Trump was able to increase his margins with Latinos. Specifically Latino men."
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With the vast majority of votes counted, Trump has improved his margins across the board, including in all of the major swing states.
He also increased his vote share massively in safe blue states such as New York and New Jersey.
Joe Biden addresses nation after Donald Trump’s historic election win
Harris is poised to win New Jersey by just five points - a state where Biden secured a 16-point lead in 2020.
Singleton, a conservative, called on the Democrats to undergo an "autopsy," similar to what he says the Republicans did after Mitt Romney lost to Barack Obama in 2012.
He added that Trump had won because he was able to reach out to traditional Democratic voters, including workers who "work with their hands."
It comes as...
- Kamala Harris conceded in a phone call to Donald Trump on Wednesday after refusing to speak to the media as he took the lead
- She finally emerged from hiding for a 4 pm ET concession speech where her VP pick Tim Walz was seen crying
- President Biden gave remarks on the election outcome on Thursday morning
- Biden also called Trump and invited him to the White House
- Trump took to the stage in Florida with his entire family at around 2:30 am ET on Tuesday to celebrate his win
- His running mate JD Vance called the victory the "greatest political comeback in American history"
- It came as Republicans took control of the Senate after Ted Cruz was re-elected in Texas
Biden stepped aside in July and announced his support for his running-mate Harris, following a doddery debate performance and criticisms about his age.
In the wake of Harris' defeat, leftwing veteran Senator Bernie Sanders slammed the party's "disastrous" campaign and accused the leadership of "abandoning" its base.
The independent, who caucuses with the Democrats, said it "should come as no surprise that a Democratic Party which has abandoned working class people would find that the working class has abandoned them."
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Sanders, who ran for president twice, added that the Democrats had first lost "the white working class, and now it is Latino and Black workers as well.
"While the Democratic leadership defends the status quo, the American people are angry and want change," he continued. "And they're right."
Kamala Harris concession speech excerpt
Harris spoke to a teary-eyed crowd on Wednesday, November 6, hours after the 2024 presidential race was called for Donald Trump.
An excerpt of her speech posted to her Instagram reads:
"My heart is full today—full of gratitude for the trust you have placed in me, full of love for our country, and full of resolve.
"The outcome of this election is not what we wanted or what we fought for, but hear me when I say: The light of America's promise will always burn bright—as long as we never give up, and as long as we keep fighting.
"There is an adage: Only when it is dark enough can you see the stars. I know many people feel like we are entering a dark time. For the benefit of us all, I hope that is not the case. But, America, if it is: Let us fill the sky with the light of a billion brilliant stars.
"May the light of optimism, faith, truth, and service guide us—even in the face of setbacks—toward the extraordinary promise of the United States of America."
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