Biden steps off stage as Harris takes the spotlight
By
Christian Datoc
August 3, 2024 7:00 am
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WILMINGTON, Delaware — Since President Joe Biden bowed out of the 2024 presidential race, he’s faded into the background as his hand-picked successor takes on more official duties.
In the two weeks since he announced on social media he wouldn’t seek a second term, Biden has held few public events. The commander in chief watched from the sidelines as the Democratic Party united behind Vice President Kamala Harris as the new presumptive nominee.
The remarkable changing of the guard is unfolding because Democrats deemed it necessary to have a shot at stopping former President Donald Trump from returning to the White House. Biden, who said he chose saving democracy over “personal ambition,” not only became a lame-duck president but took on a supporting role to his vice president.
“He’s fading into the sunset,” one Democratic strategist told the Washington Examiner.
Biden’s retreat comes as Harris must create some distance from her boss as she reenergizes the party’s voters and donors with the chance to make history as the first woman president. She’s leaning into her pre-Washington resume as a California prosecutor who can stand up to Trump, a convicted felon.
It’s a delicate tightrope of respecting Biden’s legacy while keeping him out of the spotlight during the final months of the election due to his unpopularity and the public’s concerns about his age and mental fitness.
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/white-house/3109675/biden-recedes-background-harris-starring-role/
