washington
CNN
—
As President Joe Biden took one last tour of the city this week, delivering a farewell address to the diplomatic corps, military leaders and the nation at large, his appearance belied a harsh reality. This would end in Washington, which was not what he had hoped for in his half-century career.
Biden will reluctantly step down from office on Monday, but he remains steadfast in his view that he had more to give and more to accomplish, even if he is unsure whether he would have remained healthy and energetic. .
He will be remembered for his accomplishments, but he will also be left with resentment over how his political career ended. He no longer speaks regularly with the former allies he distanced from the race. Many within the party accuse him of handing the White House to Donald Trump. He is leaving office amid strained relations with his number two and successor, Vice President Kamala Harris.
The capital, out of sight as he departs by helicopter, is now the fiefdom of his arch-rival, Mr. Trump, and a return to Washington is the outcome Mr. Biden most wanted to prevent. Rather than being remembered as the American politician who completely defeated Trump, as he had hoped after his 2020 victory, two administrations led by men who once labeled him a fascist and a threat. He will be considered an interim president for the time being. Toward democracy.
“My term ends, but the work continues,” Biden said Friday in his final public appearance as president. “Your work continues.”
Biden’s first term was full of ups and downs.
He led the country out of a pandemic that defined a generation, but inflation soared in part due to stimulus and public mood never fully improved.
He repealed Trump-era immigration policies he deemed inhumane, but a surge in illegal border crossings at the U.S. southern border strained national resources and sparked a backlash that ultimately led to many of the same restrictions. revived.
His decision to end the country’s longest war meant he became the first president in decades not to hand over the Afghanistan conflict to his successor. However, the withdrawal was deadly and chaotic, and many Americans questioned his abilities.
When Russia invaded Ukraine, America’s alliance was restored in common cause. However, the war continues without a clear end. In the Middle East, an 11-hour ceasefire was reached in the Gaza Strip in exchange for hostages, but he must reluctantly share credit with Trump for completing the deal.
New investments in America’s infrastructure and manufacturing have created thousands of new jobs and fueled new industries. But even if Biden speaks for himself, the benefits of his record will not be demonstrated for years to come.
Trump has restored some normalcy to his presidency after years of norm-breaking, but he ignored public sentiment about his advanced age and broke his promise by pardoning his son Hunter.
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., who took office in Washington in 1972 as the nation’s youngest senator and left office as the oldest president, knew that once his policies took hold and America was able to do so, the history books would write the White House. Reap the benefits of his many accomplishments as he hopes to remember the good and erase the bad from his tenure.
“It will take time to feel the full impact of what we have done together, but the seeds have been planted and will grow and bloom for decades to come,” he said Wednesday night. He spoke during a 19-minute farewell speech in the Oval Office.
The speech surprised many Biden supporters, but its content did not. In other words, it was a long list of accomplishments to brighten up his one-time legacy. Instead, Biden used much of his remarks to warn against a burgeoning “tech-industrial complex” run by oligarchies that is eroding democratic institutions. (Critics have noted that Biden and his fellow Democrats have long relied on financial support from billionaires, including from Silicon Valley and Wall Street.)
But that doesn’t mean he hasn’t thought about his place among America’s other 45 presidents. Mr. Biden, in the waning days of his presidency, is steeped in sentimentality, mindful of his legacy.
He has taken a series of executive actions to solidify policies on the environment, immigration and foreign affairs before Trump’s arrival. He has issued dozens of pardons and commuted thousands of sentences, and is still considering whether to grant pre-emptive pardons to some political allies who could face prosecution in the new Trump administration. .
Advisers say he has taken a walk down memory lane more often than usual, eager to remind people of accomplishments he believes are underappreciated. Advisors say his mood inside the West Building has swung from excitement to nostalgia.
“He’s forever frustrated that we didn’t talk enough about what the administration did,” a senior White House official told CNN. “His frustration is that he doesn’t get what he deserves.”
Allies argue that history will look more favorably on his presidency as his policies bear fruit.
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-South Carolina) told CNN, “I don’t think historians are going to deal with sound breaks or whether prepositions or phrases were broken.” “They’re going to essentially deal with it and I think you’re going to see, essentially, that Joe Biden is going to be handled very well.”
What is not mentioned, at least against Biden directly, is his own shortcomings as a communicator and his chances of winning for himself and his party by forgoing re-election or ending the election much earlier than he did. This is a possibility that could have improved the gender. .
Biden and his family are concerned that many of his Democratic friends, including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, appeared to have given up on him after he failed in June’s debate with Trump. I still feel angry.
“Let’s just say I’m disappointed in the developments,” First Lady Jill Biden told The Washington Post this week. “I learned a lot about human nature.”
Since the November election, Mr. Biden has privately hinted to some friends and allies that he believes he could have defeated Mr. Trump had some party leaders not pushed him aside. Ta. Democratic lawmakers said the president’s comments during a holiday party at the White House were “awkward and clearly misguided.”
Biden began sharing those thoughts out loud this year, telling USA Today in his exit interview, “It’s presumptuous to say that, but based on the polls, I think so.”
Of course, the polls showed no such results.
Every time Biden says he could have beaten Trump, it’s a reminder that Harris didn’t, adding to their already complicated relationship as their partnership with the White House wanes. There are new tensions.
“Whether they meant it or not, this is a sign of disrespect,” a former Harris adviser told CNN on condition of anonymity, referring to the tensions between the two men and many of their longtime supporters. spoke openly.
Aides said Biden did not intend his comments to be interpreted that way and has not publicly criticized Harris or her campaign. But his repeated comments still hurt many Democrats the wrong way.
After the USA Today interview was published last week, Biden and Harris spoke about her comments about the election, two people familiar with the matter said. Two days later, Biden changed his words slightly when asked by reporters if he truly believed he could have defeated Trump.
“I could have beaten Trump, and I might have won,” Biden said. “I think Kamala could have beaten Trump and would have beaten Trump.”
The answer still infuriated some of Harris’ advisers and supporters. Harris went to great lengths to demonstrate her loyalty to Biden during her 107 days on the presidential campaign trail, never criticizing or distancing herself from him.
“She was loyal to her own detriment,” another former Harris adviser said on condition of anonymity. That’s because the vice president is urging her colleagues to treat the outgoing Biden with grace.
But his comments have proliferated in message groups and conversations, particularly the language he chose when asked whether Harris should run again for the Democratic nomination in 2028.
“I think she has the ability to run again in four years,” Biden told reporters late last week. “That will be her decision.”
Harris stood at the president’s side in Crosshall when Biden announced the Middle East ceasefire deal, and delivered a prime-time farewell speech sitting in the Oval Office just steps away from the Resolute Desk. . To the people.
A senior Democratic adviser close to Biden and Harris said their relationship was “absolutely fine,” but that it was understandably complicated when Biden returned to the White House as a nominee. . The adviser likened this dynamic to the later years of Al Gore and Bill Clinton.
“It’s always difficult to step back into the No. 2 role,” the Democratic adviser said. “President Trump makes things even more difficult.”
Several Democratic Party leaders, including members of Congress, said they are eager for the party and the country to move on from its painful defeat in the 2024 elections.
“It doesn’t really matter because it’s over, right?” said California Democratic Representative Sidney Kamlager Dove. “This is our reality and we have to move forward. We’re not thinking about it.”
Rep. Summer Lee, D-Pennsylvania, said there is little to be gained by focusing on the president’s comments or last summer’s historic switch between Biden and Harris.
“It turns out it doesn’t really matter what Mr. Biden thinks he could or could not have done. Or anyone else,” Lee told CNN. “What’s the point of focusing on that? Would, maybe, should. We lost the election.”
In some ways, how Harris and Biden spent their final days in the White House reflects the different paths they will take once they no longer serve together.
Biden will enter private life after serving in public office for much of the past half-century, recently becoming a great-grandfather. Part of his focus will shift to raising the millions of dollars needed to build a presidential library. He will probably write a new book.
“I’m not going to disappear out of sight, I’m not going to go out of mind,” Biden told reporters last week, but how he plans to make his voice heard in the months and years after he leaves office. is unknown.
Harris, who is 22 years younger than Biden, faces a different decision. Few believe her political career is over. After an evaluation period, she could potentially run for California governor in 2026, or even run for president again in 2028.
“It’s not in my nature to go quietly into the night,” she told staffers Thursday as she signed the petition at her White House desk. This is a decades-long tradition. “So don’t worry about that.”
CNN’s Annie Grayer contributed to this report.
