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At some point on Tuesday night, as Americans around the country sat glued to television coverage of the election results, President Joe Biden joined them in doing the same.
He was going to retreat upstairs to the White House residence, aides said, with a smattering of family members and his longtime political advisers to keep tabs on an election that until three months ago he was supposed to be in, and one that will have far-reaching implications for him personally, politically and historically.
It marked the latest bittersweet moment for the sitting president, who has played a leading role in so much of the drama that unfolded in one of the most unusual presidential election cycles in recent political history. But it also marked the culmination of a campaign in which he has faded into the background, one where his wife spent the final days campaigning far more than he did.
Even for a man with perhaps more election night experience than any other - he was on a US Senate ballot seven times and a presidential ticket three times, twice as the running mate and once as the principal - this marked a new experience.
“He’s in a good place,” said Senator Chris Coons (Democrats, Delaware), who spoke to the president on Monday. “He’s optimistic about Vice-President Harris’ chances. He’s looking forward to the rest of the year and finishing up a number of things he’s working on that will also lay the groundwork for his post-presidency.”
Biden spent Tuesday at the White House and held no public events, and at around 4pm, aides told reporters that there would be no appearances for the day. He spent early portions of the night calling candidates and by 9pm had called a trio of Delaware winners - Senator-elect Lisa Blunt Rochester, Governor-elect Matt Meyer and Mayor-elect John C Carney jnr - as well as Senator-elect Andy Kim (Democrats, New Jersey) and North Carolina Governor-elect Josh Stein (Democrats). But he was not expected to join the Harris rally taking place just miles from the White House, at Howard University.
His allies say that the president - who often jokes that he will do whatever helps the most, campaigning in someone’s state or staying away - understands his role.
“I think Joe Biden is one of the most insightful, seasoned campaigners and political leaders I’ve ever met,” Coons said. “I think the demands and the urgency of this election hit home for him more than almost anyone - because all the hard work, all the accomplishments that the President and Vice-President have made are at stake here.”
Biden has spent the past few days making a wide number of phone calls to those who have supported his campaigns. Various state Democratic Party chairs received calls Monday, their cellphones suddenly ringing with an unknown number ending in four zeros.
“God bless ya,” he told Wisconsin Democratic Party chairman Ben Wikler.
Anderson Clayton, the chairwoman of the North Carolina Democratic Party, could hardly believe it when the president was on the other line.
“I sobbed halfway through it. It’s like, man, the president of the United States is calling me the night before an election, and I’m 26 years old,” she said, growing emotional while recounting the exchange.
She asked him what he told himself on the eve of elections.
“‘God willing the creek don’t rise, we’re going to win,’” he told her. “He said it was something his dad used to tell him.”
But there is also a wistfulness that Biden seems to carry. He has had to reconcile that he is not the one generating massive crowds and that he has not been the sought-after surrogate that he has been through much of his career. While he did one event for Harris on Saturday in Scranton, Pennsylvania, by the next day he was home in Wilmington, Delaware, spending the afternoon in the clubhouse of a nearby golf course.
“2024 has been a disappointing year for Joe Biden so far. He was supposed to be the Democratic nominee for president, and instead he’s left watching with family and friends like the rest of us,” said Doug Brinkley, a presidential historian.
“But nobody is going to be more engaged than Joe Biden,” he added. “His entire legacy is in the balance.”
His legacy is now inextricably linked with Harris’.
Biden aides have recently described some of the behind-the-scenes actions he took just after making his decision to drop out of the race, and the ways in which he cleared the way and bolstered Harris.
On July 21, a Sunday afternoon when he made public his decision to drop out, Biden and his advisers gathered until 10pm at his home in Rehoboth, Delaware, as he made about 50 calls to party leaders and allies, both thanking them for supporting him - and urging them to back Harris, according to people familiar with the events speaking on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitivities.
He was also clear with his senior advisers that they all needed to support Harris, and he began the work to turn over the campaign apparatus that had been working to elect him to instead begin working to elect Harris. Jen O’Malley Dillon, who had been leading Biden’s campaign, stayed on to run Harris’.
“If the story of this election is positive for Democrats across Pennsylvania, I think it’ll be principally that the Biden campaign invested heavily in a strong ground game nine months ago,” Coons said. “And the Harris campaign has stepped into the shoes of the Biden campaign in mobilising.”
Biden advisers also say they have been closely in touch with Harris aides. White House Chief of Staff Jeff Zients instituted daily calls with Lorraine Voles, the Vice-President’s chief of staff, and he often spoke at least once a day with O’Malley Dillon. Zients also ensured there were representatives from Harris’ team on any meeting about a decision in the works, and there were Saturday planning calls to provide updates on what each side was up to.
While sitting presidents at times have been kept at an arm’s length, there are few parallels for the circumstances confronted by Biden and Harris.
In 1960, Dwight D Eisenhower only reluctantly endorsed his vice-president, Richard M Nixon, late in the race in a way that harmed his chances, and Nixon lost to John F Kennedy. In 2000, Al Gore distanced himself from Bill Clinton, who remained popular and may have otherwise been an asset.
“You’re seeing a Joe Biden who bombed a debate and for decades was known for gaffes and saying out-of-school terms and words - and seemed lost,” Brinkley said. “It was hard to see how Biden was going to help Harris at all. But it was important to have the impression that they are close friends.”
Over the past month, Harris has rarely mentioned him unless asked.
“I am running for president of the United States. Joe Biden is not,” she said two weeks ago on MSNBC.
“Mine will not be a continuation of the Biden administration,” she said in Pennsylvania recently.
Biden caused more headaches for Harris last week, with off-the-cuff comments in which he used the term “garbage” when discussing former president Donald Trump’s supporters and racist rhetoric at a Trump rally October 27.
In the past few days, he spent time calling allies but was largely out of public view. He’s issued statements on the results in Moldova’s elections, the passing of music icon Quincy Jones and Boeing machinists approving a new contract.
Biden has experienced a range of emotions over the past several months. There has been a fair bit of bitterness, more than a little pridefulness and a large dose of wistfulness, according to those who have spoken with him. During his remarks at the Democratic National Convention, he spent the first several minutes dabbing his eyes amid a standing ovation.
Even though that night’s programming dragged on, and he spoke past prime time, it was perhaps the largest audience he has had since.
But lately, he and some of his family members have turned nostalgic, at the culmination of a long career.
A few weeks ago, Jill Biden teared up introducing her husband at an Italian American Heritage Month reception. “I don’t know why I’m getting so emotional.” On Monday night, his daughter and granddaughter were among those in Philadelphia for the final Harris rally, as Lady Gaga and Ricky Martin performed and as Harris took a stage that was once supposed to be Biden’s.
He has had to grapple with the idea that he will soon exit political life, the occupation that has guided him for more than five decades. He entered office as one of the youngest US senators in history and now will leave as the oldest president in history.
Biden is expected to take several trips in the coming weeks, leaving next week to Peru and Brazil for international conferences, and to Angola in early December. He’s also focused on his post-presidency, which includes affiliations with universities, a memoir and a presidential library.
But on Saturday, he was back in Scranton, the town he was born in and one that he often invokes in his political biography. He touted his economic policies and his union support. But he also reflected on how his time is limited.
“I’m not just asking it for me,” he said. “I mean, I’m going to be gone. I’m asking you to do something for yourself and the families, for the people you grew up with, the neighbourhoods you come from. That’s what the hell we’re about.”
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