A moment that is bound to be emotional and undeniably cruel: Joe Biden comes to support Kamala Harris on Monday, with a speech at the opening night of the Democratic nomination convention.
“I’m ready” to pass the torch, he assured journalists, coming to do a quick technical test on stage in Chicago.
The party’s high mass has so far not been disrupted by massive pro-Palestinian demonstrations.
A midday rally attracted several thousand people, according to an AFP journalist, far from the numbers hoped for by some organizers.
“Glad he’s quitting”
Just a month ago, Democrats expected to half-heartedly swear in the octogenarian president, mired in the polls.
But now, after her incredible withdrawal on July 21, they are once again dreaming of a victory for their 59-year-old candidate against Donald Trump.
The affection the Democratic Party will show for Joe Biden will be matched by the relief it feels at his withdrawal.
“I’m sorry to see him go, it’s going to be a pretty tough time,” Ken Chestek, a Democratic delegate from the mountainous state of Wyoming, told AFP.
“I love the man but I was absolutely delighted when he quit because he was dragging us down,” said Harry Pascal, a Democratic activist.
Meanwhile, Donald Trump discussed his economic program on Monday in Pennsylvania, a key state for the November 5 election.
Promising a protectionist shift and massive deregulation, the former Republican president attacked Kamala Harris’ “communist” plans, accused her of “not knowing what she was doing”, and suggested without any evidence that she had staged a “putsch” against Joe Biden.
On Monday evening, the latter will have to give his unreserved support to the vice-president, whatever his regrets and perhaps his bitterness.
Will
For the president, who will be preceded on stage by his wife, Jill Biden, and then announced by his daughter Ashley, this speech will have a testamentary dimension, at the end of half a century of political life.
“It will be a rewarding moment” for him, assured White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, assuring that he was “eager to talk about the historic successes he has achieved for our country with the vice president.”
The 81-year-old president is also expected to argue for the defense of democracy against Donald Trump.
The emotion will be at its peak if, as rumor has it, Kamala Harris joins him on stage Monday evening.
As soon as his speech is over, Joe Biden is scheduled to fly to California for a vacation.
No tears, however, from the pro-Palestinian demonstrators, angry at the Biden-Harris administration’s policy of supporting Israel.
Their first rally on Monday fell far short of the target of 50,000 participants sometimes put forward.
Around the rally, several “Abandon Harris” signs lay unused on the ground.
Obama
Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama will also speak at the convention.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will also deliver a speech on Monday.
An unsuccessful candidate against Donald Trump in 2016, when she was the favorite, her presence will perhaps remind Democrats to exercise a certain amount of caution.
The billionaire, who plans to travel to several highly strategic states this week, is looking for a way to counter the attacks from the opposing camp.
“We’re extremely normal people,” the 78-year-old candidate said Monday, for example, about himself and his running mate JD Vance, whom Democrats have labeled a “weird” man.
Kamala Harris’ lead in the polls, however, remains within the statistical margin of error.
Donald Trump dominates the Republican Party, despite his historic conviction in one criminal case and prosecutions in several others.
He remains adored by his base, even more so since the assassination attempt he suffered in July.
“I don’t see us as favorites at all,” Kamala Harris warned on Sunday.