"I am proud to call him my president" - Barack Obama shares his tribute as Joe Biden is cheered on by the crowd at the 2024 DNC

Former U.S. President Barack Obama recently paid tribute to the 46th U.S. President, Joe Biden after the Democratic National Convention. President Joe Biden took center stage at the opening night of the Democratic National Convention for the last time as President on August 19.

Acknowledging his speech, Obama posted a video from the convention on X showcasing gratitude for having Biden as a friend. The caption of the post read,

"What I admire most about Joe is his decency, his resilience, and his unshakable belief in the promise of our country. Over the last four years, those are the values America has needed most. I am proud to call him my president, and I'm so grateful to call him my friend."

While taking center stage at the DNC, Joe Biden expressed honor to serve the U.S. as its president. Biden also said that he loves the job but loves his country more. Biden then acknowledged talk about his displeasure for people who asked him to step down from reelection and said it wasn't true. He also talked about preserving U.S. demorcracy in 2024.

While talking about his career, Biden said,

"I've made a lot of mistakes in my career but I gave my best to you."

At the end of his speech, Biden urged voters to vote for Kamala Harris for President and formally passed the Democratic torch to Harris as the crowd cheered Biden with a four-minute standing ovation.

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Joe Biden and Barack Obama's friendship explored

44th U.S. President Barack Obama and 46th U.S. President Joe Biden share a close bond of friendship as members of the Democratic Party. In 2008, the two ran against each other in 2008 Democratic primaries, after Biden during a conversation with The New York Observer in a 2007 interview described him as,

"The first mainstream African-American who is articulate and bright and clean and nice-looking guy."

Barack then chose Biden as his running mate since he found the contrast between him and Biden who is 19 years his senior, "compelling." During Barack's tenure as President, photos of the two meeting for weekly lunches went viral showcasing a close friendship.

The two also supported each other's personal struggles and Obama delivered a eulogy for Biden's son after he died of cancer.

In July, Biden stepped down from reelection and endorsed Kamala Harris after Barack's advisors and associates pushed him to step down. The move came after Biden's poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump. Obama's longtime advisor David Axelrod during an interview with CNN in July said Biden stepping down was "sad" but "necessary."

Axelrod highlighted issues with age and leadership as Biden turns 82 in 2024.