Biden's Democratic convention moment: an opening act, not the main attraction

By Steve Holland

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden, forced by his allies to abandon his reelection bid a month ago, will be in the spotlight on opening night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, aware that his party has swiftly moved on without him.

Instead of his hoped-for high-profile speech on Thursday to accept the Democratic nomination for another four-year term, Biden will be the main event at the start of the Chicago convention before traveling to California for a vacation.

In his speech, Biden is expected to tout his accomplishments - boosting the U.S. economy and strengthening U.S. alliances abroad - and make the case for Americans to elect his vice president, Kamala Harris, as his White House successor.

Harris, 59, is likely to appear on stage with Biden, 81, sources said on Saturday. Her campaign has been weighing whether and how to use Biden in winning over voters, and the president plans to fundraise for her ahead of the Nov. 5 election.  

Biden quickly threw his support behind Harris when he yielded to pressure from fellow Democrats on July 21 and abandoned his quest for a second term.

Biden's botched June 27 debate against former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate again this year, added to growing concerns that Biden was too old for another term.

For three weeks Biden resisted entreaties from allies to step aside while opinion polls showed Trump extending his lead, but he finally gave in and left the race.

Biden was annoyed by the pressure from Democrats, including longtime friend and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, to step aside. He believed he could still win despite polls showing him in a weakening position against Trump.

A month after Biden became the first incumbent not to seek reelection since Lyndon Johnson in 1968, aides said he was delighted by the momentum Harris had generated behind her candidacy, feeling it vindicated his decision to back her at a time when some Democrats wanted to open the race up to more candidates.

BIDEN, PELOSI YET TO MAKE AMENDS

But he and Pelosi, who at 84 is still a party power broker, have yet to make amends. Asked about their relationship on Aug. 11, Pelosi told MSNBC her family has "generations of love" for Biden but winning the election was the most important goal. 

Two Biden aides said he was not dwelling on her but was focused instead on what he can accomplish with his remaining months in office - Inauguration Day is Jan. 20, 2025 - and working to get Harris elected.

Former White House senior adviser Anita Dunn said: "This is a president who does not spend time looking back. He is very focused on looking forward."

Democrats will pay tribute also on Monday night to their 2016 presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, who is expected to speak before Biden. Former President Barack Obama will speak on Tuesday, and former President Bill Clinton on Wednesday.

In his remarks, Biden is expected to extend credit to Harris for his accomplishments and to warn against returning Trump to the White House after the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters who were seeking to overturn his loss to Biden in the 2020 election.

Biden confidant Ted Kaufman, a former U.S. senator, said the main issue for Biden is to stress the importance of the 2024 election.

"The threat of a Trump presidency really focuses the mind on what's really important. I think Biden's objective will be, 'how do I increase the probability that Kamala Harris is elected president of the United States?'" Kaufman said.

Thomas Alan Schwartz, a presidential historian at Vanderbilt University, said Biden will have the opportunity to take a victory lap and say he withdrew in order to put his party first.

"I can’t imagine anyone who was supporting Biden before he pulled out not supporting Harris. I don’t really see him as providing any additional support. But in a way she is in this delicate position of wanting to separate herself from him without alienating him," Schwartz said.

(Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Heather Timmons and Howard Goller)