US President Joe Biden professed his admiration for former First Lady Hillary Clinton and stated that he loved her for defending him in public after he was "trapped" by his wife, Jill Biden, to give a speech in New York City. It all happened at the Clinton Global Initiative's summit on Monday evening.
Mr Biden, who dropped out of the presidential race against Donald Trump in the November 5 US election, was not scheduled to address the event. He came there to support Jill Biden. He was later called to the stage to accept the Global Citizen Award.
"I — this is what you call being trapped," Biden said, thanking the former first couple, Bill and Hillary Clinton. Biden said he was not going to make a "long" speech "because I didn't think I was going to be talking about this."
Noting he had known the Clintons for a long time, Biden said that it was fair to say that he was one of the earliest supporters of Bill Clinton's presidency.
"... because what I saw in you was not an incredible intellect but a decency that you talked — you gave me credit for. It was always about the other guy, always about somebody else," he added.
Biden, 81, then went on to thank Hillary Clinton for helping him.
"Hillary, I want to thank you — and I maybe shouldn't do this publicly — but thank you personally for the way you have helped me, the way you've spoken up for me with such passion. I can't tell you — I — you can ask Jill. I — anyway, I — I love you. I love you," he said.
To this, the former first lady responded, "Thank you," while her husband had his arm around her shoulder. In the meantime, Jill Biden clapped lightly while looking on. Earlier, the Clintons extended their support to Biden following his debate with former US president Donald Trump on June 27.
"The choice in this election remains very simple. It's a choice between someone who cares about you—your rights, your prospects, your future—versus someone who's only in it for himself. I'll be voting for Biden," Hillary Clinton wrote on X, a day later.
However, Biden soon exited the US presidential race, paving the way for US Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee against Trump. The two had their first presidential debate on September 10. It lasted for almost 1 hour and 45 minutes.
