AMERICAN President Joe Biden has a light schedule for next week after being spotted enjoying some downtime at the beach over the weekend.
Biden’s once-packed schedule was turned upside down when the president left the country reeling a few weeks ago with his announcement that he would not run for re-election.
Within days, support quickly consolidated for Vice President Kamala Harris to replace Biden on the Democratic ticket.
Since dropping out, the president has faced a notably less intense schedule than he did earlier this year.
Over the weekend, summer images of Biden lounging in shorts on the beach with first lady Jill Biden near their home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, circulated online.
Instead of seeing a professionally dressed president in a frantic rush to get from a campaign rally to the nextBiden appeared to have enjoyed his newfound free time.
The drop in official appearances stands in stark contrast to how Biden’s team originally hoped to spend the year — despite an ongoing crisis in the Middle East that has many on edge, according to Fox News.
Some analysts have suggested that Biden should still be campaigning, stumped by Harris – but others think he would be better off focusing on governing, as reported by Political.
“Joe Biden and America had a huge victory last week,” a Democratic strategist told Politico, referring to the return of prisoners from Russia.
“He reminded voters of his compassion and unwavering leadership. More strong government victories and less campaigning is probably the best thing he could do for the ticket.”
One second anonymous the strategist said he’s not surprised to see Biden home.
“It is clear that the party did not want Biden as a candidate. It’s very difficult to see Harris’ team wanting him on the trail,” he told Politico.
Insiders said they expect to see Biden on the campaign trail alongside Harris at some high-profile events in key voting areas, but otherwise don’t expect him to take much of the spotlight away from the new presidential candidate.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR BIDEN?
Instead of focusing on winning back the White House, Biden’s team appears to be shifting gears to bolster his legacy.
Several advisors and advisors described the current situation to Politico as a reorganization, in which the entire team now needed to rethink where it could go next year.
Biden has reportedly been briefed on how he may want to approach what are now definitively his final five months in office.
What are Trump and Biden’s platforms?
A look at the issues that matter most to candidates.
Biden Talking Points:
- The importance of democracy after the January 6th attack on the Capitol
- Defender of abortion rights after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade at 6-3 in 2022
- His Build Back Better plan, the $2.2 trillion infrastructure spending bill introduced in 2021
- Support for Ukraine and Israel while they are at war
- Highlight the strong US economy and low unemployment rates during his presidency
Trump Talking Points:
- Slam issues on the US-Mexico border, which was a critical talking point for his 2016 victory
- Criticize the series of criminal and civil cases filed against him
- Applaud the Trump-appointed Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe after the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg
- Discuss a plan to end the war between Russia and Ukraine, although he did not say which country wants to win
- Defends parents’ rights to regulate and restrict discussion of gender, sexuality and race in schools
Jake Sullivan, the national security adviser, suggested the president could spend more time strengthening American relations with international partners, according to a person involved in the talks.
Xavier Becerra, secretary of Health and Human Services, has reportedly focused on passing a proposal to lower prescription drug costs before the end of the year — a key promise of the Biden administration during his term.
ONE MONTH FOR THE HISTORY BOOKS
Rarely has a planned political debate been as consequential as the presidential showdown between former President Donald Trump and Biden, which aired on June 27.
The first presidential debate in June proved to be a disastrous night for the president, whose performance led millions of voters and several hard-line party members to question whether the 81-year-old was prepared for the task of re-election.
With a strange debate format that did not allow for fact-checking by the hosts, both candidates repeated the same talking points, and sometimes misinformation, that they had been presenting for years.
But almost no one seemed to pay attention — instead, the conversation centered on the president’s audibly low voice, his verbal stumbles and the times he stopped mid-sentence.
Timeline of Biden’s failed re-election bid
President Joe Biden endured weeks of calls to step aside before announcing on July 21 that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race. Here are the key developments that led to his decision.
June 27: Biden’s disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump sparks calls for him to step aside. His voice is hoarse and he stops speaking several times after being questioned about his age and mental capacity following a series of mistakes at public events.
July 2: Post-debate polls indicate Trump is gaining ground. Representative Lloyd Doggett is the first Democratic congressman to publicly urge Biden to drop his re-election bid and major Democratic donors make the same call a day later.
July 5: Biden gives a live TV interview with George Stephanopoulos, where he tries to calm fears about his age and discuss performance. He calls it a “bad night” and says he was unwell and “exhausted.”
July 10: Senator Peter Welch becomes the first senator to call for Biden to resign.
July 11: Biden refers to Ukrainian President Zelensky as President Putin at a NATO event.
July 13: Trump is shot at a campaign rally by a would-be assassin. His popularity and favorability rating soared after he was seen bloodied on stage but came out with his fist in the air, telling the crowd to “fight!”
July 17: Rep. Adam Schiff and a host of other Democrats call for Biden to step down, and even former President Barack Obama tells allies that Biden’s path to victory has “greatly diminished.” Biden tested positive for Covid-19 hours later, after saying he would consider ending his candidacy if he was diagnosed with “any medical issue.”
July 19: Biden insists he will continue campaigning in his first statement since Obama’s about-face – despite reports he would decide to drop out over the weekend.
July 21: Just before 2 p.m., Biden announces he is stepping aside in the 2024 election and supports Vice President Kamala Harris.
Discussions about Biden’s health and fitness for office dominated the networks.
Just over three weeks after more than 50 million people watched the event, Biden shared his resignation on social media platform X on July 21.
How Harris became the front-runner for the Democratic nomination almost overnight, calming fears that the Democratic Party could descend into chaos following the announcement.
Since then, much of the public focus has been on his rapid rise to the top of the ticket and how his Republican competitor, former President donald trumpplans to defeat his new rival.
Harris was in the headlines last week with the surprise selection of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, a candidate notably different from Trump’s pick for vice president, Sen. J.D. Vance of Ohio.
Together with Democratic Party With funds and a large portion of his supporters, many of Biden’s confrontations with Trump have also been transferred to Harris, including discussions about when – or even if – a second presidential debate will take place.
The two candidates agreed last week to maintain the originally scheduled date and location for the second debate, which will be held on ABC on September 10.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story