While the Democratic Party leadership is putting on a united public front, Joe Biden’s simmering resentment over the quiet coup that ended his re-election dreams may be bubbling to the surface.
It wasn’t long ago that Biden was looking forward to the primetime closing spot at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, making his case for leading the United States for another four years.
Now he’s been demoted to a curtain-raiser speech on the opening night when he is likely to make a call for unity in a party that has effectively closed ranks to move forward without him.
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According to Politico’s Playbook, Biden “won’t be sticking around for the rest of the week’s festivities.”
That means he’ll miss his old boss Barack Obama’s speech to the convention on Tuesday, fueling speculation that the president “harbors some resentment” that Obama didn’t stand up for him when the knives came out after the disastrous debate with Donald Trump in Atlanta.
Even more significantly, if Biden retires to the White House for the remainder of the convention, he will skip the symbolic handover of the 2024 presidential election torch to Kamala Harris that he set in motion when he decided to stand down and endorse his vice president on July 21.
The Harris-Walz team may worry that would send the wrong kind of message to their GOP rivals, and to the country.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates neither confirmed nor denied the Politico report, telling the Daily Beast Wednesday, "We do not have schedule information to provide about next week yet, but can keep you posted for when we do."
The White House was similarly coy on Monday about the president’s plans for the party convention, confirming at a press briefing that he will speak at the convention but not saying whether he will be in Chicago when Harris formally accepts the party’s nomination.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden recognizes the “incredibly important moment” he will have at the convention.
“He’s looking forward to, as he tends to do, speak directly to the American people, talk about the moment that we’re at, what’s at stake, and continue to talk about an issue that is incredibly important to him, which is unity, making sure that we’re unified and we continue to do the work that the president has been successful in doing in the past three and a half years,” she added.
Hillary Clinton will also be speaking on Monday, with Obama on Tuesday, Bill Clinton and Tim Walz on Wednesday, and then Harris closing the convention on Thursday.
Politico reports that Biden remains “frustrated and angry” with three key party leaders over the way they handled his ouster from the race—Obama, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer.
Biden was reportedly upset that Obama didn’t call him directly to talk over the growing pressure to replace him. “The former president did not try to stir up a movement to dislodge Biden from the top of the ticket, but he also didn’t quell one, much to the dismay of some of those closest to Biden,” Politico reports.
Biden is said to regard Pelosi’s moves to push him out as “ruthless.”
“The president is still smarting but has told people in recent days that he grudgingly respects Pelosi’s actions. ‘She did what she had to do’ in order to give Democrats the best chance to win in November,’” Biden told one source, according to Politico.
Although he spoke to Schumer on the day he quit the race, Biden is still reportedly upset at the role his old friend played in the coup.
Some insiders described the president as “at peace” and “not bitter,” and Biden loyalist Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) said, according to Playbook : “I spoke to [Biden] yesterday, and he was positive and looking forward and focused on what he can get done in his remaining five months.”
But the Harris-Walz campaign will be more concerned about what Biden does rather than just what he says at the convention.
The president can say all he likes about unity on Monday and is sure of an enthusiastic reception. But if he skips key speeches by Obama and Harris in the subsequent days, then questions will continue to be asked about just how unified the Democratic Party really is after a historically turbulent summer.
