President Biden delivers remarks at the HBCU Week 2024 national conference in Philadelphia on September 16, 2024.
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Wilmington, Del., a city of 71,000, is not the most likely destination for a summit of world leaders gathered to discuss issues facing the Indo-Pacific region.
But this weekend, that’s where President Biden is hosting his counterparts from India, Japan and Australia, bringing them to his beloved hometown to talk about military and coast guard cooperation, and shared work on cervical cancer research.
It’s an example of how Biden is filling his schedule with a combination of personal and political pursuits, while keeping his legacy in mind as his term draws to a close. Biden is now in the twilight of his presidency, and he’s increasingly acknowledging it in public.
President Biden holds a jersey given to him by the University of South Carolina women’s basketball team during an event at the White House to celebrate their 2023-24 championship season on September 10, 2024.
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Drew Angerer/AFP
Take last week’s debate, for example. It was originally scheduled to be the second matchup between Biden and former President Donald Trump — until Biden pulled out after the first.
As Vice President Harris prepared to take the stage, Biden found himself welcoming not one, but two events honoring college sports teamsHe joked to one of the winning coaches, “I won’t be here next year, but maybe you will be.”
Biden then stopped on the South Lawn of the White House to speak to reporters before heading to New York. “I’m going to New York for my granddaughter’s birthday. Then we’re going to watch the debate,” Biden said.
University of Connecticut Huskies basketball players present a jersey to President Biden during a celebration of their NCAA championship season at the White House on September 10, 2024.
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Biden is increasingly withdrawing from the political scene as the campaign progresses. But he will hold the highest office in the land for another four months, and Biden is trying to make the most of it.
Biden’s chief of staff, Jeffrey Zients, recalls the Sunday morning in July when Biden called to say he was dropping out of the race.
“He immediately turned to planning for the remainder of the term and he said to me, and I remember this distinctly, ‘I want this next period of months to be as productive, if not more productive, than any other period of the administration,’” Zients said.
This period, the final months of a presidency, is known as the “lame duck” period. But that term ignores the real work that can be done, says Eric Schultz, who worked until the end of the Obama White House.
According to Schulz, Obama has asked his team to leave it all on the field. “He’s been very clear that even on the worst of days, there’s no other place in life, no job, no role or platform where you can have as much impact,” Schulz said.
For Biden and his team — who will have served only four years instead of eight — that feeling could be even more acute, Schultz said.
President Biden hugs Evan Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal A journalist freed by Russia in a multinational prisoner exchange on August 1, 2024, at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
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Even on the day Biden ended his bid for a second term — what might have been considered one of the lowest moments of his career — he was on the phone negotiating what would become a major event, a complex multinational prisoner exchange.
Ten days later, Biden stood on the tarmac to see three Americans wrongfully detained in Russia reunite with their families on American soil. Biden said the exchange would not have been possible without the strong relationships he fostered during his time in office.
“Alliances make a difference. They took risks for us. That meant a lot,” Biden said.
President Biden speaks during an event at the Vernon Electric Cooperative on September 5, 2024 in Westby, Wisconsin.
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But most of what Biden has done lately hasn’t made headlines — though Zients said what Biden has done will have a big impact.
“He’s been on the road, he’s crisscrossed the country. Earlier this month, he announced the largest investment in rural electrification since FDR. It was in Wisconsin,” Zients said.
Westby, Wisconsin, to be exact – where Biden has shed enough of his burden to reference a long-dead senator.
“The first time I came here was about 180 years ago, with William Proxmire, and I was a 31-year-old senator. I’m only 40 now,” Biden said.
Biden is working to build support for bills that will be a major part of his legacy: the infrastructure bill, the CHIPs and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
“I am back today to begin a series of trips and events showcasing the progress we have made together through our Invest in America program,” he said.
In the remaining four months, the president, who has long been passionate about foreign policy, will also have to travel abroad.
He will be back in the Blue Wall states of Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, where Biden has the best chance of helping Vice President Harris’ campaign. With time running out, Biden is well aware that the outcome of this election will play a significant role in how he is remembered.
President Biden speaks at the Economic Club in Washington, DC, on September 19, 2024.
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NPR Michel Levitt And Megan Lim contributed to this story.
