U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris speaks next to U.S. President Joe Biden during an event in Prince George’s County, Maryland, U.S., August 15, 2024.
Elisabeth Franz | Reuters
President Joe Biden’s role at the Democratic National Convention next week may have changed dramatically with his decision to end his bid for a second term, but his message about the stakes in this election will sound familiar, several Biden associates said.
The outgoing president is expected to make the case in his keynote speech Monday that Vice President Kamala Harris should succeed him as president, and as part of that, he will proudly point out her accomplishments over the past four years.
But Biden still believes Republican nominee Donald Trump poses a serious threat to American democracy, and he will urge delegates in Chicago and voters across the country to do everything they can to beat him again in November, aides said.
“President Biden is determined to save democracy in 2020 and then defeat the threat that Donald Trump poses to it,” one official said.
The first day of the convention in Chicago will include a series of tributes to Biden as he prepares to end his half-century in public service. Of course, just a few weeks ago, the entire convention was focused on arguing for another four years in office. But now it will provide the president with another opportunity to try to shape his legacy.
The president will spend the weekend at Camp David with senior advisers, including chief speechwriter Mike Donilon and Vinay Reddy, to fine-tune the speech, which will build on the message he delivered from the Oval Office shortly after dropping out of the race and make a strong defense of Harris and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz.
The speech, officials said, would help unify the beleaguered party quickly behind her historic candidacy, recalling the significance of Biden’s endorsement of Harris shortly after he announced he was dropping out of the race. Biden had worked hard to stay in the race after his poor performance in the debates, but his speech on the first day of the convention helped pass the torch to her and Walz, Biden officials told NBC News.
“The president is pleased with the momentum of the campaign and looks forward to making his case,” one official said.
But Biden’s aides believe they will continue to highlight the Biden-Harris record at the convention even after Biden leaves, drawing a contrast with the Republican nominee.
“Four years ago, America was reeling from a once-in-a-century pandemic, isolated on the world stage, crime was rising, and our middle class was marginalized,” one official said. “Today, we are a global growth engine, our alliances are strong, violent crime is at a 50-year low, border crossings are lower than when the previous administration left office, and we are making progress on the issues that Americans care about most.”
Members of the Biden family are expected to attend with the president and first lady, and both are expected to speak before their husbands. Longtime Biden friends and supporters are also expected to travel with him on a charter flight from Delaware to attend the speech, and several aides have organized a celebration for them and other current and former staffers in Chicago Monday night.
Other convention elements intended to boost Biden’s candidacy will remain homages, starting with a convention logo that borrows from the 2020 campaign design. All convention delegates will also be served a “Cup of Joe” branded coffee, and signs around the United Center on Monday will recall Biden’s Oval Office speech, “History is in your hands,” and his family’s mantra, “Spread the Faith.”
After his speech Monday, Biden will leave Chicago for a week in Southern California, where he will meet with top advisers who have been working to finalize his plan for the past month.
A Biden official said the president will have an “extensive domestic schedule that will see him travel the country and remind Americans that they have a choice between his vision and that of the vice president, and that we must move the country forward, not backward.”
“And the President will fight to build on this historic achievement by making every day of his term count,” the official added. “Expect aggressive implementation of historic legislation, cost-cutting measures, and a full foreign policy agenda.”
