Amid a whirlwind Democratic campaign, the party’s national convention featured President Joe Biden as the keynote speaker, just under one month after he dropped out of the presidential race.
The commander-in-chief made history at the end of July when he announced that, despite his original plans to “seek reelection,” he had decided it was the “best interest” of both the Democratic party and the country for him to “stand down and focus solely” on completing his current term.
Less than an hour later, he revealed his “endorsement” for his vice president, Kamala Harris, to represent the party in his place. He called on Democrats to “come together” so they could “beat Trump.” The former president dominated in the Republican primaries, giving him the 2024 nomination.
On Monday August 19, Biden gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention—the first night of the conference. He puffed himself up about what he got done while in the White House and once again voiced his support for Harris as the nominee. The new Democratic candidate also surprised the crowd on Monday with support for the next step and gratitude for Biden’s service.
Regarding his decision to step down from his re-election campaign, the president expressed that he “love[s] the job” but care for the country “more.” His wife, first lady Jill Biden, described her husband as having gone “deep into his soul” to reach the conclusion that he should drop out of the race and endorse Harris.
But inside scoop from anonymous sources close to the president indicate that he may not have abandoned his re-election bid as peacefully as it may seem. According to presidential aides and associates, Biden is upset with several politicians involved in his abandoned campaign.
In particular, two main Democratic leaders—former president (and Biden’s former boss) Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi—are not among his favorite people, despite close relationships in the past. Biden apparently believes that these two are part of a group of people who worked to get him to drop his bid for re-election.
Pelosi has gained attention recently as reports blew up that she had pressured Biden to end his campaign. She has publicly said that she was in favor of Democrats winning a campaign and noted that she did not believe Biden’s team could do so.
According to one source, Biden has also acknowledged that the California representative “did what she had to” for the party to have the highest success opportunity. He also said that she “cares about the party” rather than focusing on emotions.
When it comes to Obama, Biden is reportedly frustrated that his old boss failed to tell him personally about his concerns over the campaign after the painful debate between Biden and Trump. The highly anticipated June event sparked a wave of concern from Democrats that their presumptive nominee was unfit to run, having exhibited a familiar yet more intense display of cognitive decline.
Though Obama expressed support for his old fried after the debate, he did not say anything more in public. Sources say that there was much disappointment that Obama did not drum up promotion of Biden, even though he did not actively try to get him off the ticket like Pelosi did.
