Watch key moments from Biden’s primetime address

Joe Biden’s first opportunity to establish the way he’ll be judged by the history of his time.

In a rare television speech in the Oval Office on Wednesday night the first time he’s made public remarks after he abruptly halted his re-election campaign last Sunday boasted about his achievements. He talked about his humble origins. He sang praises to his fellow American people. He said that the direction of American democracy is in the hands of Americans.

What he did not do, despite his claim that he’d always try to be friendly with Americans did was give an exact explanation of the biggest issue of the moment.

He didn’t explain why he became the first president in office to pull out of a re-election campaign only two months before the election starts.

That’s what the historical books will be most attracted to.

He made a hint. He discussed the idea. He never took the issue directly. It was left to the American people to discern the truth.

“In recent weeks,” the vice president Biden stated, “it’s become clear to me that I need to unite my party.”

Then, he repeated what has become a popular refrain among Democrats the need for us to “pass the torch” to the next generation.

When he stated that his accomplishments that he highlighted in detail, were worthy of the chance to run for a second term He also said to the effect that “nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy – and that includes personal ambition.”

Unspoken was the harsh, cold fact that he quit because it was becoming more and more apparent that he would fall to Donald Trump in November. This is a result that the people in his party generally consider disastrous.

Biden was trailing in the polls after a shoddy debate performance, and with an increasing chorus within Biden’s Democratic Party calling for him to resign There was no way to guarantee an eventual Biden victory.

Although the president might not have spoken about it however, the president’s Republican predecessor – who is now an opponent to the White House – had no hesitations in saying it.

At the rally held in Charlotte, North Carolina, just a few hours prior to the speech, Donald Trump said Mr Biden quit due to the fact that he was losing a lot.

Then he launched the attack on Kamala Harris who is the presumed nominee, saying that she was an “radical left lunatic” and the “ultra-liberal driving force behind every single Biden catastrophe”.

Republican groups are saturating the airwaves of key states of battle trying to define Harris according to their own terms and not her own. According to The Associated Press, Trump’s side is expected to outspend its Democratic counterparts 25-to-1 over period of the next month.

One ad stated Ms. Harris was a part of the cover-up that covered President Obama’s “obvious mental decline”.

The speech of Vice President Biden was the nation’s largest audience, a primetime platform to offer an argument against the accusations on his vice-president as well as raise concerns about his ability to as president.

The opportunity was one that he typically passed over.

In the final moments the speech President Obama did mention his running partner. He claimed that Ms. Harris had been “experienced, tough, capable” and an “incredible partner for me and a leader for our country”.

These were powerful words, but there weren’t many them. He talked more about Benjamin Franklin than he did his vice-president – who that he had a vote for on Sunday, and the person who will be the main torch-bearer for Franklin’s legacy for the years to come.

With no support of the presidency, Harris as well as her agents will need to decide if and how, to react to the savage Republican attacks in the upcoming days.

Mr. Biden might have another opportunity to promote his running mate when he attends his appearance at the Democratic convention that will be held in Chicago in the coming months, but this is an extremely delicate moment for the presumptive candidate, since her campaign is still gaining momentum off the ground, and Americans continue to get get to know her.

The president could be apprehensive about being too political in this speech that could be his last Oval Office address. However, if he’s concerned over his future, Harris’ performance or failure, much more than everything else that he does from now from now on, is what matters.

It will determine if the historians judge him as one who made a worthy sacrifice as well as one who placed his party’s future at risk through a selfish decision to hold the power over a long period of time.