Joining us now is presidential historian Mark Updegrove. Mark, thanks so much for joining us. You no doubt have seen and read about presidents giving similar addresses months before the end of their terms. How does this one measure up?

I think it's a good speech, Lindsay. It was a very good speech. No surprise, Joe Biden came back time and time again to the issue of democracy. That's why he went into this race to begin with. One thing stuck out to me at the end of the speech, Lindsay, when he said, History is in your hands. Let's act together to preserve our democracy. I think President Biden, by getting into the race in 2020, was intent on bending the currents of history, taking back the White House in order to preserve democracy from Donald Trump, who he considered, and many Americans considered, to be an existential threat. That was a defining moment, resting the White House from Donald Trump. I think the other defining moment for his presidency will be stepping aside and passing the torch to Kamala Harris, who stands a better chance of staving off another threat from Donald Trump against all odds, a resurgent Donald Trump, to once again win the White House. So two defining moments bookending the Biden presidency. Lindsay.

Biden was obviously trying to cement how historians will view his presidency. Do you think that he was able to succeed in selling it?

I think in some ways, yes, because he fulfilled the promise of restoring our democracy by preserving and protecting and strengthening our democracy by bringing us back to democratic norms and values and traditions. You also mentioned, Martha Radetz early in the broadcast, that he survived a very weakened NATO around the defense of Ukraine against Russian aggression. Two very significant accomplishments in restoring and preserving our democracy. But again, I think he realized that he wasn't the one to continue this fight. So his legacy, Lindsay, is very much in the balance as, again, he hands off the torch to Kamala Harris to stave off another potential threat from Donald Trump.

The fact that the President has six months still remaining in his term, is that much time for him to affect his legacy and for it to change?

I think he has to do everything he can to round out the administration in in a noble and admirable way. Lame duck presidents can't accomplish a great deal, Lindsay, as you know, having watched lame duck presidents through the years. But I think he has to do everything he can to help his heir apparent, Kamala Harris, to win the office in the fall. But the other thing he's going to have to do is show America that he is able to continue to lead, given the fact that he said that stamina is an issue. That's why he's not running again. That's why his party has asked him to step aside. So he has to continue to show the vigor, the energy, the vision to continue in the role of our President and Commander-in-Chief.

Residential historian, Mark Updegrove, we thank you so much as always.