US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden leave the White House on Monday to address the Democratic National Convention.SHAWN THEW (EFE)
Joe Biden traveled to Chicago on Monday to attend a Democratic National Convention very different from the one he had imagined just a month ago. The flight plan for the Air Force One Biden will only make a stop in the city for a few hours before heading to Santa Ynez, California, almost 3,000 kilometres away, where the US president will spend the rest of the week on holiday. Even so, Biden’s fleeting presence at the convention will go down in history: he hands over the baton to his vice president, Kamala Harris, with the aim of defeating Republican Donald Trump in the November 5 elections, whom the president perceives as a threat to democracy and the country.
The vast majority of the more than 4,500 delegates who attended the convention were chosen in the Democratic primaries to nominate Biden, 81, as their candidate. However, after the disastrous Atlanta debate on June 27 against Trump, the president finally gave in to pressure from his party and public opinion. He threw in the towel and gave his support to Harris, whom the Democrats had already officially nominated via teleconference two weeks ago. The change has radically changed the dynamics of the campaign, in which the Democrat has overtaken Trump in the polls. With Harris and her vice-presidential candidate, Tim Walz, joy, enthusiasm and energy have taken hold in the party in a way that the Democrats have not seen since Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008.
Biden was expected to give the closing speech of the convention a month ago, accepting his nomination, but the party finally reserved for him the star speech of the first day, scheduled for around 10 p.m. in Chicago (5 a.m. on Tuesday in mainland Spain). The Democratic electoral program, published in its latest version on Sunday, still speaks of Biden running to “finish the job” and mentions a second term for the president 20 times, which gives an idea of how quickly events have turned; but also of the limited capacity for reaction of those responsible for its publication.
Trump mocked this on his social network on Monday: “In the newly released Democratic platform, they mention the ‘second term’ of the corrupt Joe Biden more than 20 times. This shows that the platform [como se denomina al documento programático] It’s not that important to them when they don’t even make the change,” wrote.
The convention kickoff has become a bittersweet tribute to Biden’s legacy for the president. Many of those now praising his legacy at the convention are the same ones who pushed him to step aside just weeks ago.
“We will, of course, honor President Joe Biden. We wouldn’t be here without him. His historic record of accomplishment with Vice President Harris at his side is unmatched by any presidency in modern history, and it will be our honor to highlight and showcase his accomplishments,” Alex Hornbrock, the convention’s executive director, said Monday at the convention’s first press conference. “Politicians care about the next election, statesmen care about the next generation,” Cedric Richmond, co-chair of Harris’ campaign, praised Biden at the same event. “As a statesman, he passes the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris to continue putting this country first,” he added.
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Last service to the country
The president has seen his resignation as a personal sacrifice, a kind of final service to the party and the country. He is the first president not to run for re-election since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968. For his self-immolation to make sense, however, Harris must defeat Trump, and Biden is determined to do his part to do so. On Friday, in Hagerston, Maryland, he was asked what his message would be for Democrats on Monday, and he replied with one word: “Win.”
Biden was retreating to Camp David, the president’s country residence in Maryland, to finalize his convention speech, where he also prepared for the debate that ended his chances of reelection. He is expected to make a passionate defense of the achievements of his term, which began in the midst of the pandemic, and which are achievements shared with Harris.
During his presidency, job creation has broken records in the heat of the recovery from the health crisis and the unemployment rate has remained at very low levels – although high inflation has eclipsed it. Biden has promoted a historic infrastructure plan and has encouraged investments in clean energy and microprocessors, giving a strong boost to the industrial sector with a protectionist policy. The president boasts of the price reductions in medicines that he has forced, of his measures to alleviate student debt and of those aimed at combating abusive commissions by companies and banks, within an economic policy with an eye on the middle class.
He also boasts of his foreign policy, especially his leadership in expanding and strengthening NATO in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Gaza war, however, has been one of the factors that have contributed to his erosion and that still tarnish the party’s unity, as was evident in Chicago.
“This is a moment of fulfillment for him,” the White House spokeswoman said Monday aboard Air Force One, in a statement broadcast by the White House. “He is eager to talk about the historic results he has achieved for the country alongside Vice President Harris. You can expect President Biden to continue to talk about his Administration’s achievements for working families, and the difference between an agenda that would move the country forward and one that would take it backwards,” she added.
“It’s a great night. He’s very excited. He’s looking forward to it. He’s going to talk about his vision for the country, what he’s done in the last two years, and about policies to move forward now and not backwards,” he said.
Harris’s victory is vital to her legacy. Biden sees Trump, with his authoritarian and populist rhetoric, as a threat to American democracy. Removing him from power was his first major achievement as president. Now he will try to prevent him from returning to the White House.
In his 50-plus-year career, Biden has never been a particularly charismatic politician. His rallies don’t draw crowds like those Trump and, now, Harris usually do. The convention that nominated him in 2020 was held virtually because of the pandemic. His appearance at Chicago’s United Center on Monday is a mass celebration as the party pays tribute to him for his entire career, accompanied by family and allies. However, when the climax of the convention arrives, Harris’ acceptance speech, Biden will watch it on television.
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