Joe Biden's name was not on the ballot. But history will probably also remember as its own the resounding defeat of Vice President Kamala Harris in the recent US presidential elections, according to Democrats and analysts.
As Democrats reel from President-elect Donald Trump's decisive victory, some of the vice president's supporters are expressing frustration over Biden's decision to seek re-election until this summer, despite voters' long-standing concerns. about his age and unease over post-pandemic inflation, as well as the US-Mexico border, which all but sealed his party's surrender of the White House.
“The biggest responsibility for this defeat falls on President Biden,” said Andrew Yang, who ran against Biden in 2020 for the Democratic nomination and endorsed Harris's failed candidacy. “If he had resigned in January instead of July, we could be in a very different situation.”
Biden will leave office having led the United States out of the worst pandemic in a century, rallied international support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion, and passed a trillion-dollar infrastructure bill that will impact communities for years. the next few years.
But after having competed four years ago against Trump to “restore the soul of the country,” Biden will make way, after a single term, for his immediate predecessor, who overcame two impeachments, a felony conviction, and an insurrection launched by his supporters. . Trump has pledged to radically reform the federal government and roll back many of Biden's priorities.
“Maybe in 20 or 30 years, history will remember Biden for some of these accomplishments,” said Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University. “But in the short term, I don't know if he will escape the legacy of being the president who defeated Donald Trump only to usher in another Donald Trump administration four years later.”
The president stayed out of sight Wednesday for the second day in a row, making congratulatory calls to Democratic lawmakers who won the election and to Trump. Biden invited Trump to a meeting at the White House and the president-elect accepted.
Biden is scheduled to give a speech in the Rose Garden on Thursday about the election. He issued a statement shortly after Harris gave her concession speech on Wednesday, praising Harris for running a “historic campaign” under “extraordinary circumstances.”
Some senior Democrats, including three Harris campaign advisers, expressed deep frustration with Biden for not acknowledging earlier in the election cycle that he was not up to the challenge. The advisers spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.
Biden, 81, ended his re-election campaign in July, weeks after a dismal debate performance sent his party into a spiral and raised questions about whether he still had the mental acuity and stamina to serve as a candidate. credible.
But polls conducted much earlier showed that many Americans were concerned about their age. About 77% of Americans said in August 2023 that Biden was too old to be effective for four more years, according to an AP-NORC Public Affairs Center poll.
The president bowed out on July 21 after receiving not-so-subtle pushes from the powers that be in the Democratic Party, including former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California. Biden endorsed Harris and handed over his campaign operation to her.
Yang argued that Democratic Party leaders are also to blame for taking too long to remove Biden. With few exceptions, most notably Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips, Democrats have avoided talking publicly about Biden's age.
“Why didn't this come from any Democratic leader?” Yang said. “It is a lack of courage and independence and an excess of careerism; if I remain silent, we will move on.”
The campaign was also marked by anger among some Arab Americans and young voters over his approach to Israel's conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon. Senator Bernie Sanders, an ally of Biden and Harris, said in a statement that Democrats had lost track of the concerns of working-class Americans.
Harris managed to generate much greater enthusiasm than Biden was generating among the party's rank and file, but she struggled to distinguish how her administration would differ from Biden's.
Appearing on ABC's “The View” in September, Harris could not identify a decision that would have separated her from Biden. “I can't think of anything,” Harris said, giving the Trump campaign a phrase that was repeated until Election Day.
Strategists advising Harris' campaign said the busy campaign schedule made it even more difficult for Harris to differentiate herself from the president.