Washington (AP) Since the Democrats’ devastating loss at the polls, President Joe Biden has been noticeably silent.
Biden has mostly been quiet about his worries about the future of America and has not yet offered a thoughtful analysis of why Democrats were soundly rejected across the board, after years of telling Americans that a Donald Trump victory would be disastrous for American democracy.
In an approximately six-minute speech in the Rose Garden two days after the election, he made his first public statement regarding the results, calling on people to lower the temperature and view one another as fellow Americans rather than enemies. There hasn’t been any public interaction since, including during Biden’s six-day trip to South America, which ended Tuesday night. His brief remarks prior to talks with government officials were the only public statements he made during the trip.
Perhaps Biden’s quiet is creating a void at a sensitive time for the world and the United States. However, his public hesitancy has also highlighted a new reality: the world and America are already moving on.
He has finished his race. David Axelrod, a top adviser in the Obama-Biden White House, declared that his day was over. The task of determining the future rests with the next generation of leaders, who I have no doubt will do so.
Biden’s relative quiet following the Republican victory is somewhat comprehensible, according to historian Edward Frantz of the University of Indianapolis. Nevertheless, he contended, Biden has strong cause to try to control the narrative more actively in his last few months in office.
“Jimmy Carter, the last one-term Democrat in the White House, was the last president to leave office so irrelevant or rejected by the populace,” Frantz added. Because of everything that Carter accomplished after leaving office, history has permitted his remarkable recovery. I doubt Biden has the luxury of leisure at eighty-two. He runs the risk of giving up control over his legacy, at least in the short term, the longer he waits and the longer he is unable to find something to say.
Biden’s supporters emphasize that it has just been two weeks since Trump’s victory and claim that the president is quietly processing the election loss, much like Democrats in general.They said Biden still has a lot to work through and hasn’t been openly reflective about his part in the defeat.
“Campaigns are contests of competing visions,” Biden stated in his post-election speech. One or the other is selected by the nation. We agree with the nation’s decision. You can’t love your country only after you’ve won, I’ve said a lot. Only when you agree can you love your neighbor.
Trump disregarded electoral customs four years ago when he actively attempted to overturn the results of the election he lost and contributed to a mob riot at the U.S. Capitol, according to Biden’s aides, making the president’s insistence on adhering to them crucial for a smooth transition and inviting Trump to the White House.
Even while he doesn’t say much in public, Biden is still quietly mulling about the outcomes.
Biden chose not to conduct a press conference, which is customary for US presidents when they travel to Peru and Brazil for talks with world leaders.Although Biden was previously much less likely than his peers to make press conferences, his team frequently cites spontaneous situations in which he responds to inquiries from reporters who accompany him around. In this instance, he hasn’t even participated in an unplanned Q&A regarding the election or other topics.
And notably this week, Biden left it to allies Emmanuel Macron of France and Justin Trudeau of Canada to offer public explanations of his critical decision to loosen restrictions on Ukraine s use of longer-range American weapons in its war with Russia.
Biden, for whom Ukraine has been a major focal point of his presidency, had long been concerned about escalation should the U.S. relax restrictions, and was cognizant of how Moscow might respond had he seemed to be thumping his chest at President Vladimir Putin. But Ukraine has also been a touchy subject because of Trump, who has claimed he d end the war immediately and has long espoused admiration for Putin.
The GOP victory Trump won both the popular vote and Electoral College count, and Republicans won control of Congress comes as the president and Vice President Kamala Harris have both sounded dire alarms over what a Trump presidency might mean.Harris called Trumpa fascist.Biden told Americans the very foundation of the nationwas at stake, and he said world leaders, too, were concerned.
Every international meeting I attend, Biden said after a trip in September to Germany, they pull me aside one leader after the other, quietly and say, Joe, he can t win. My democracy is at stake.
His voice rising, Biden then asked if America walks away, who leads the world? Who? Name me a country.
Perhaps the most important moment of his time in South America was a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. His public comments at the start of that meetingwere notably more backward looking than Xi s, the leader of America s most powerful geopolitical competitor.
I m very proud of the progress we ve both made together, said Biden, fondly recalling a visit near the Tibetan plateau with Xi years ago. He added, We haven t always agreed, but our conversations have always been candid and always been frank. We have never kidded one another. We ve been level with one another. And I think that s vital.
Xi, by contrast, looked past Biden in his remarks and sought to send a clear message to Trump.
China is ready to work with the new U.S. administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation, and manage differences so as to strive for a steady transition of the China-U.S. relationship for the benefit of the two peoples, Xi said, while urging American leadership to make a wise choice as it manages the relationship.
The president also seemed in no mood to engage with reporters throughout his time in South America. Since Election Day, he s only briefly acknowledged media questions twice.
In one of those exchanges, he responded to a question from an Israeli reporter about whether he believed he could get a cease-fire deal in Gaza done before he leaves office with a sarcastic reply: Do you think you can keep from getting hit in the head by a camera behind you?
The terse answers and silence haven t stopped reporters from trying to engage him.
Over the course of his time in South America, he ignored questions about his decisions on providing anti-personnel mines to Ukraine, reflections on the election, and even why he s not answering questions from the press.
As he got ready to board Air Force One in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday to make his way home, one reporter even tried endearing herself to the president by pointing to Biden s 82nd birthday on Wednesday.
Mr. President, happy early birthday! For your birthday, will you talk to us, sir? the reporter said. As a gift to the press will you please talk to us? Mr. President! President Biden, please! We haven t heard from you all trip!
Biden got on the plane without answering.
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