Biden's legacy is still being written. How he helps Harris may be key.
Now a caretaker president, Joe Biden has no realistic hope of getting a divided Congress to pass unfinished parts of his agenda.
WASHINGTON — Now a caretaker president, Joe Biden has no realistic hope of getting a divided Congress to pass unfinished parts of his agenda.
But what he can do in his remaining months in office may be even more important in preserving America's democratic traditions: stop Donald Trump's return to power, the president suggested Wednesday night in his Oval Office address.
“Nothing,” Biden said, “nothing can come in the way of saving our democracy. That includes personal ambition. So, I’ve decided the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation.”
Biden has left it to his vice president, Kamala Harris, to defeat Trump. He bowed to political reality in dropping his re-election bid, conceding that the younger, more energetic Harris may stand a better chance in November.
But Biden’s legacy is tethered to the outcome of the election, even if he's no longer on the ballot, historians say. Proud as he is of hard-won legislation aimed at upgrading roads and bridges, Biden needs a Harris victory to secure his own place in history, they said.
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