Biden passes torch to Harris in bittersweet convention farewell
Biden can expect a hero’s send-off from many of the same people who helped push him out due to concerns about his age
Daily TribuneBiden can expect a hero’s send-off from many of the same people who helped push him out due to concerns about his age
US President Joe Biden is facing a bittersweet Democratic National Convention, where he will be greeted with gratitude as he passes the torch to Vice President Kamala Harris
ROBERTO SCHMIDT / AFP
US President Joe Biden will give a bittersweet farewell address at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday, passing the torch to Kamala Harris as the party’s nominee for November’s election.
Less than a month after his stunning withdrawal and Harris’ astonishing ascent, Biden can expect a hero’s send-off from many of the same people who helped push him out due to concerns about his age.
The 81-year-old is expected to say that Harris — America’s first female, Black and South Asian vice president — is the best person to finish the job he started of protecting American democracy from Republican rival Donald Trump.
Harris is set to briefly appear with her boss on stage for his primetime speech in a symbolic moment designed to show unity among Democrats over his succession.
One hangover from his time in office, however, is a huge planned protest in Chicago against the Biden-Harris administration’s support for Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.
Biden said on Sunday he felt “good, real good” about his speech, after spending the weekend at the Camp David presidential retreat in rural Maryland fine-tuning his address with top aides.
Now a lame-duck single-term president, Biden will be all too aware that his legacy hinges on whether Harris can go on to beat Trump — and that if she doesn’t, many will blame him for clinging on so long.
First Lady Jill Biden, 73, a staunch defender of her husband who was with him throughout the final stages of his fateful decision on 21 July, will also take to the stage in Chicago.
But there will undoubtedly be mixed emotions for the aging president, who has watched Harris chase down Trump in the polls and enthuse voters in a way that he never managed during his time as candidate.
Biden now also finds himself as the warm-up act for Harris, who will give her headline speech on Thursday in a slot that just a few weeks ago would have been his.
He won’t be hanging around for her big night, and is instead heading off immediately after his speech to start a six-day holiday in California while the conference continues without him.
