The last days of the Biden campaign – BBC correspondent’s account

BBC correspondent Tom Bateman takes us behind the scenes in the final days of Biden's campaign.

British Broadcasting CorporationWatchHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveHomeNewsIsrael-Gaza WarWar in UkraineUS & CanadaUKUK PoliticsEnglandN. IrelandN. Ireland PoliticsScotlandScotland PoliticsWalesWales PoliticsAfricaAsiaChinaIndiaAustraliaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastIn PicturesBBC VerifySportBusinessExecutive LoungeTechnology of BusinessWomen at the HelmFuture of BusinessInnovationTechnologyScience & HealthArtificial IntelligenceAI v the MindCultureFilm & TVMusicArt & DesignStyleBooksEntertainment NewsTravelDestinationsAfricaAntarcticaAsiaAustralia and PacificCaribbean & BermudaCentral AmericaEuropeMiddle EastNorth AmericaSouth AmericaWorld’s TableCulture & ExperiencesAdventuresThe SpeciaListEarthNatural WondersWeather & ScienceClimate SolutionsSustainable BusinessGreen LivingVideoLiveLive NewsLive SportHomeNewsSportBusinessInnovationCultureTravelEarthVideoLiveAudioWeatherNewslettersThe last days of the Biden campaign – BBC correspondent’s accountReutersBiden's last public appearance in Delaware before announcing he would withdraw from the raceFive nights ago, I stood on the tarmac at Dover Air Force Base and watched Joe Biden, wearing a dark jacket and baseball cap, gingerly descend the staircase of Air Force One.

From my position in the travelling press pool, I saw each unsteady step downward being scrutinised as closely as his acts of office. From the plane emerged an inescapable scene of frailty. The human weakness of age seemed to have overcome the most powerful man on earth.

Mr Biden, 81, had just tested positive for Covid. We had flown back with him from Las Vegas in what became a debilitating end to a trip meant to see him hitting the campaign trail with full force.

The scene at Dover, now being replayed over and over on the news channels covering his election exit, was his last public appearance before he pulled out of the race on Sunday. If feels now like the image of the end of his candidacy.

So much changed in a week.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c250zqgrpqgo

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