‘A Defeat Does Not Mean We Are Defeated’

Wednesday afternoon saw Vice President Kamala Harris delivering her concession speech to end the 2024 presidential cycle. President Joe Biden offered a short postscript on Thursday morning, addressing the nation from the White House Rose Garden at 11:25 a.m. ET.

“Campaigns are a contest of competing visions—the country chooses one or the other,” Biden remarked during his five-minute address, acknowledging Harris’ defeat by President-elect Donald Trump. “We accept the choice the country made.”

Watch Joe Biden’s address below:

“I’ve said many times,” Biden continued. “You can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree. Something I hope we can do no matter who you voted for is see each other not as adversaries, but as fellow Americans.”

The president confirmed that he had spoken with the president-elect by phone and offered his aid in the upcoming transition. Trump has not delivered his own address to the nation since he declared victory in the early morning hours of Election Night. The majority of news networks had called the race was called in his favor by around 5 a.m. on Wednesday.

Biden also praised Harris for running an “inspiring campaign” with her “whole heart.” The vice president celebrated her campaign staff in her own speech, saying: “I am so proud of the race we ran and the way we ran it. Over the 107 days of this campaign, we have been intentional about building community and building coalitions.”

As his speech drew to a close, Biden pointedly emphasized his administration’s achievements, calling his term in the Oval Office a “historic presidency” that leaves behind “the strongest economy in the world” for his successor.

“I know people are still hurting,” Biden said, referencing the economic concerns among voters that Trump emphasized in his campaign. “But things are changing rapidly. Now we have 74 days to finish our term—let’s make every day count.”

Biden also tacitly encouraged Democratic voters not to doubt the outcome of the election, and instead focus on preparing for the 2026 and 2028 cycles. “Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable,” he said. “We all get knocked down, but the measure of our character—as my father would say—is how quickly we get back up.”

“A defeat does not mean we are defeated,” the outgoing president added. “We lost this battle, [but] the America of your dreams is calling you to get back up.”