Next to President-elect Donald Trump and his team as well as the millions of Americans who voted for him, President Joe Biden is probably the happiest we have seen him over the past year.
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On Thursday, he came out to address the nation after Vice President and selected Democrat nominee Kamala Harris conceded the election to Trump. Biden seemed rested and jovial, with normal-looking eyes instead of shiny black rocks, and managed to give a speech that was mercifully short, but also the most cogent speech he has given in years.
In the speech, Biden did three things:
1. Showed the nation that HE is still the President of the United States.
2. Gave props to his vice president for her “inspiring” presidential run, while effectively rubbing her loss in her face.
3. Positioned himself as the “Unifier of the Democrat Party,” thus securing his legacy.
Let’s unpack this:
Biden talked about the hallmark of a constitutional republic, although his programming used the word “democracy,” we know that he was referring to the workings of our constitutional system:
For over 200 years, America has carried on the greatest experiment in self-government in the history of the world — and that’s not hyperbole; that’s a fact — where the people — the people vote and choose their own leaders and they do it peacefully and where, in a democracy, the will of the people always prevails.
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This is what a president is supposed to do: Give Americans clarity on major events that affect the republic. With the weeping and gnashing of teeth, sackcloth and ashes, and finger-pointing occurring over this major Democrat Party loss, whoever is running Biden understood that this was the way to play it after the election result:
Yesterday, I spoke with President-elect Trump to congratulate him on his victory. And I assured him that I would direct my entire administration to work with his team to ensure a peaceful and orderly transition. That’s what the American people deserve.
Now Biden is going back to being “Unifier in Chief,” playing the magnanimous leader who pays attention to the will of the people. After all that talk of “Trump is Hitler,” “threat to democracy,” and calling Trump supporters “garbage,” now he’s all about what the country wants. We know it’s a crock, but for his supporters and the sake of his legacy, Biden is doing the song and dance.
Biden moved to propping up his vice president for her character, and for putting her whole heart into the campaign:
Yesterday, I also spoke with Vice President Harris. She’s been a partner and a public servant. She ran an inspiring campaign, and everyone got to see something that I learned early on to respect so much: her character. She has a backbone like a ramrod. She has great character, true character. She gave her whole heart and effort, and she and her entire team should be proud of the campaign they ran.
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But it seems Biden only set Harris up in order to mow her down. At the beginning of Harris’ concession speech, she laments that:
The outcome of this election is not what we wanted. Not what we fought for. Not what we voted for. But hear me. Hear me when I say, the light of America’s promise will always burn bright as long as we never give up and as long as we keep fighting.
Harris also made another telling statement when she spoke to facilitating a peaceful transfer of power:
[…] we will help and that we will engage in a peaceful transfer of power. A fundamental principle of American democracy is that when we lose an election, we accept the results. That principle, as much as any other, distinguishes democracy from monarchy and tyranny, and anyone who seeks the public trust must honor it. At the same time, in our nation, we owe loyalty not to a president or a party but to the constitution of the United States. And loyalty to our conscience and to our God. My allegiance to all three is why I am here to say, while I concede this election, I do not concede the fight that fueled this campaign. The fight for freedom, for opportunity, for fairness, and the dignity of all people.
Harris incorporated the word “fight” and “fighting” in the balance of her speech. I suspect it alludes to the potential for more challenges, shenanigans, and underhanded tactics by Democrats—or at least the Obama/Harris camp. Biden’s next words effectively threw Harris under the bus by reframing this message:
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You know, the struggle for the soul of America since our very founding has always been an ongoing debate and still vital today. I know, for some people, it’s a time for victory, to state the obvious. For others, it’s a time of loss.
Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice the country made. I’ve said many times you can’t love your country only when you win. You can’t love your neighbor only when you agree.
Something I hope we can do no matter who you voted for is see each other not as adversaries but as fellow Americans, bring down the temperature.
I also hope we can lay to rest the question about the integrity of the American electoral system. It is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent. And it can be trusted, win or lose.
This appeared to take the wind out of the sails of whatever “fights” are being engineered. We will see how well Democrat Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), and especially Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), adhere to this in the next 74 days.
The Democrats thought they could divest themselves of Joe Biden and replace him with Kamala Harris. They thought it was the only way they could win. The Harris campaign further sidelined and marginalized Biden and kept him away from her campaign as much as possible, opting to put out former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton as surrogates. Despite this, she still lost, and the lost was absolute.
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Because he appears to be nowhere near the wreckage (wink wink, nod nod), now Biden has clean hands with which he can further burnish his legacy. Biden is the only Democrat candidate who can claim he did not lose to Trump, and now he has positioned himself as the only president who can bring his party back together and help them to manage this new era of Trump.
Biden might be a criminal, but he’s a smooth criminal, and he’ll be enjoying every moment until January 20, 2025.