日美韩/政治 外交消息人士31日透露，美国政府正在安排邀请日本首相岸田文雄和韩国总统尹锡悦出席7月在华盛顿举行的北约峰会之际，举行日美韩三边首脑峰会， 以展示了北约与日韩的团结及北约在东北亚的存在感，加强对在东海、南海及台海推进霸权行为的中国、不断提高核和导弹技术的朝鲜及持续对乌克兰进行侵略战争的俄罗斯的威慑力 ...  El primer ministro japonés Fumio Kishida (derecha), el presidente estadounidense Joe Biden (centro), y el presidente de Corea del Sur Yoon Suk Yeol (izquierda), en Camp David, el 18 de agosto de 2023.日美韩三国首脑在戴维营 AFP - KENT NISHIMURA 拜登重视北约成员国与印太地区的合作，以期继续支持乌克兰并遏制俄罗斯新的侵略行为， 他邀请在乌克兰问题上做出积极贡献的日本及同一阵营的韩国参加北约峰会，鼓励各个地区之间民主阵营的团结与合作以对应新的安保局势的变化

[Finance and economics](/finance-and-economics/) | The 100% manoeuvre  Photograph: Getty Images May 14th 2024|Washington, DC Just over six years ago, when Donald Trump first announced [tariffs on Chinese goods](https://www.economist.com/special-report/2019/05/16/the-trouble-with-putting-tariffs-on-chinese-goods), it was as if a bomb had gone off. American stocks fell sharply at the prospect of a trade war, businesses warned of blowback and economists lined up to decry the move. Such is the protectionist mood in Washington now that Joe Biden’s announcement of new measures has been met with rather less panic—even though it concerns significantly higher tariffs. On May 14th, following a policy review, the White House decided to raise tariffs on, among other things, Chinese semiconductors and solar cells from 25% to 50%, syringes and needles from 0% to 50% and lithium-ion batteries from 7.5% to 25%. It hit electric vehicles with the biggest increase of all, quadrupling the tariff rate on [China-made electric vehicles](https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/01/11/an-influx-of-chinese-cars-is-terrifying-the-west) (EVs) from 25% to 100%. Lael Brainard of the National Economic Council said the actions would create “a level playing-field in industries that are vital to our future”. Yet it is American consumers who will pay the price. [United States](/topics/united-states)[China](/topics/china)[Donald Trump](/topics/donald-trump)[Joe Biden](/topics/joe-biden)  How the country revived its go-getting spirit   It is once again a good time to work on a trading desk

Donald Trump and Joe Biden took to the debate stage in Atlanta, Georgia, for their first head to head of this year’s presidential campaign. Jonathan Freedland and Nikki McCann Ramirez of [Rolling Stone](https://www.rollingstone.com/author/nikki-mccann-ramirez/) look at who did better on the night [How to listen to podcasts: everything you need to know](https://www.theguardian.com/media/2017/oct/07/how-to-listen-to-podcasts-everything-you-need-to-know?CMP=podcast-help)

[  What Biden and Trump said after high-stakes debate -------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/ck5g279yx6zo) [  Watch: Biden, Trump talk cognitive ability and golf --------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/crgedrvpz14o) [  The mood in the spin room after US presidential debate ------------------------------------------------------ ](/news/videos/c9x84rz226lo) [  Watch: Trump denies ‘having sex with a porn star’ ------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c4ngeykrpn7o) [  Biden to Trump: ‘You’re the sucker, you’re the loser’ ----------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c51y8z22z5zo) [  Watch key moments from Biden and Trump's first debate ----------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c035j2vr6p8o) [  A look inside the spin room for tonight’s debate ------------------------------------------------ ](/news/videos/cp381d54z21o) [  What to watch for at Biden and Trump's first debate --------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cq55nypnjl0o) [  Drugs, alcohol and a gun: Inside Hunter Biden's trial ----------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c7221r0v5q7o) [  What two US presidents said at D-Day, 40 years apart ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cd1148emj40o) [  Migrants react to Biden's new immigration plan ---------------------------------------------- ](/news/articles/cgllnp4m0neo) [  Democratic lawmakers criticise Biden's border plan -------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c299n3719jeo) [  Biden announces ban on migrants crossing border unlawfully ---------------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c72249ezpj6o) [  'Reckless' to say Trump verdict was 'rigged' - Biden ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cxeej4x08yko) [  Biden honours fallen service members on Memorial Day ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/articles/clll63vpnn6o) [  Biden speaks on antisemitism amid campus protests ------------------------------------------------- ](/news/world-us-canada-68973268) [  Dissent not disorder: Biden speaks on campus protests ----------------------------------------------------- ](/news/world-us-canada-68929655)

Since Joe Biden’s stumbling performance in a TV debate with Donald Trump, some Democrats have expressed concern about his suitability to be in the race. “Voters have been voicing concerns about his age for a long time now,” senior political reporter for Guardian US **Joan E Greve** tells **Helen Pidd**. “If Democrats were going to have this argument about potentially replacing Biden on the ballot, it probably needed to happen a while ago.” What chance is there that Biden will step aside? And is it a risk to the Democrats if he does?  Photograph: ABACA/REX/Shutterstock The Guardian is editorially independent. And we want to keep our journalism open and accessible to all. But we increasingly need our readers to fund our work. [Support The Guardian](https://support.theguardian.com/contribute?acquisitionData=%7B%22componentType%22%3A%22ACQUISITIONS_OTHER%22%2C%22source%22%3A%22DIRECT%22%2C%22campaignCode%22%3A%22todayinfocus%22%2C%22componentId%22%3A%22episode_page%22%7D&INTCMP=todayinfocus)

The ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos was captured on camera saying he did not think [Joe Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden) could serve another four years in office, four days after a major TV interview with the US president and amid a re-election campaign in crisis. [ The Democrats who have called on Joe Biden to step down ](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/08/democrats-calling-joe-biden-to-step-down) The comment came after Biden attempted to assuage concerns among Democrats about his age and mental acuity, including in the [recent interview](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/05/biden-george-stephanopoulos-debate-interview) with Stephanopoulos, previously a prominent political operative. The show-business gossip site [TMZ](https://www.tmz.com/2024/07/09/george-stephanopoulos-president-joe-biden-cant-serve-4-more-years-sidewalk-election/) published a grainy video captured by an unidentified man walking on Fifth Avenue in New York City, who happened to encounter Stephanopoulos, apparently dressed for a workout. The man asked: “Do you think Biden should step down? You’ve talked to him more than anybody else has lately.” “I don’t think he can serve four more years,” Stephanopoulos responded, in what he later described as a candid moment. Later, Stephanopoulos confirmed to TMZ that he was the person in the video, and issued a statement: “Earlier today, I responded to a question from a passerby. I shouldn’t have.” An [ABC](https://www.theguardian.com/media/abc) spokesperson also told the outlet: “George expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News.” After a [disastrous debate performance](https://x.com/guardian/status/1806756625430069672) in June, Democrats have split on whether Biden’s age and mental acuity allow him to serve another four years as president. [Seven House Democrats](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/09/aoc-biden-re-election) have publicly called on the president to end his campaign with many privately expressing [the same](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/08/democrats-calling-joe-biden-to-step-down). No Senate Democrats have done the same but Michael Bennet of Colorado on Tuesday said he feared Donald Trump was on track to win the November election, possibly by a landslide. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/10/joe-biden-george-stephanopoulos-video-abc#EmailSignup-skip-link-10) Sign up to The Stakes — US Election Edition The Guardian guides you through the chaos of a hugely consequential presidential election **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion Trump, the presumptive Republican party nominee for the White House, also predicted a landslide for himself, despite his radical agenda, felony conviction, and indictments and civil court losses over sexual assault and fraud. Biden told Stephanopoulos that only [“the Lord almighty”](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/05/biden-george-stephanopoulos-debate-interview) could persuade him to step aside.

[  Biden is on 'really good form' says Starmer ------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cxw2k33l89do) [  Vitali Klitschko calls Russian attacks 'genocide' ------------------------------------------------- 3 days ago ](/news/videos/c25lz8vn4jdo) [  Staff help clear rubble from destroyed Kyiv hospital ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c6p2g1101z2o) [  Democratic voters chime in on Biden's run for office ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c8vd4g2jrzlo) [  'I am running and going to win again', says Biden ------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cw9yddwdeqdo) [  Biden says he's 'not going anywhere' at July 4 event ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/crglxnpd096o) [  Biden: 'I screwed up' --------------------- ](/news/videos/crgm7xr8n41o) [  What Biden and Trump said after high-stakes debate -------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/ck5g279yx6zo) [  Watch: Biden, Trump talk cognitive ability and golf --------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/crgedrvpz14o) [  Watch: Trump denies ‘having sex with a porn star’ ------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c4ngeykrpn7o) [  Biden to Trump: ‘You’re the sucker, you’re the loser’ ----------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c51y8z22z5zo) [  Watch key moments from Biden and Trump's first debate ----------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c035j2vr6p8o) [  A look inside the spin room for tonight’s debate ------------------------------------------------ ](/news/videos/cp381d54z21o) [  What to watch for at Biden and Trump's first debate --------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cq55nypnjl0o) [  Nigel Farage: We provoked war in Ukraine ---------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c8vv3vgngd0o)

Late-night hosts talked the coverage anticipating [Joe Biden’s Nato press conference](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/12/joe-biden-press-conference-today-election-nato-putin-harris-trump) and the White House’s response to George Clooney’s op-ed calling for a new Democratic nominee. **Seth Meyers** --------------- [Seth Meyers](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/seth-meyers) continued to look into Joe Biden’s fragile candidacy after his performance in the debate, ahead of a Nato press conference meant to assuage concerned voters. Trump, meanwhile, spent time at a campaign stop talking about how he didn’t know what Nato was before becoming president. “This man is bragging about how dumb he is, and yet he is still leading in the polls,” said Meyers on Thursday’s Late Night. “Which is why [an increasing number of Democrats are calling on Biden to make way](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/08/democrats-calling-joe-biden-to-step-down) for someone who has a better chance of winning.” One of those is the actor George Clooney, who penned an [op-ed in the New York Times](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/10/george-clooney-biden-step-down) this week titled: “I love Joe Biden. But we need a new nominee.” Clooney argued for a new nominee, saying the Joe Biden he talked to at a fundraiser he held earlier this month was the same shaky candidate seen at the debate. The White House clapped back this week, saying Clooney left the fundraiser three hours before the president did. [ Seth Meyers to Democrats: ‘Don’t just mope around, do something!’ ](https://www.theguardian.com/culture/article/2024/jul/11/seth-meyers-democrats-biden-trump) “Your slam on Clooney is that he left the fundraiser three hours early?” Meyers laughed. “No shit! He’s got better places to be. He’s George Clooney! You think he needs to stick around and beg for money at a fundraiser? He got money. “Maybe this should be inspiration,” Meyers continued. “Maybe the only way Biden can win this fight is to assemble a crack team of well-funded, highly skilled bank robbers, Ocean’s Eleven style. There’s Gavin Newsom, the smooth-talking frontman. Pete Buttigieg, the expert safe-cracker. And Kamala Harris, the genius card-counter posing as the drunk aunt at the craps table.” Jokes aside, Meyers diagnosed the moment before Biden’s press conference as a crucial one for Democrats, who need to either stick with Biden or pick a new nominee. “Democrats have a very, very strong case to make against Donald Trump’s toxic and deeply unpopular agenda,” he concluded. “But the turmoil over Biden’s candidacy is overshadowing all of it. There’s still time to turn things around but Democrats need to choose a path now and start the work of righting the ship.” **Stephen Colbert** ------------------- “This is a critical moment,” said [Stephen Colbert](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/stephen-colbert) on The Late Show ahead of Biden’s press conference. “He has to prove that even though he’s old he’s still energetic and ready to serve. “I am rooting for Joe Biden,” Colbert added. “I hope he blows the socks off of everybody with his vitality. I hope he levitates. I hope he picks up a manhole cover and throws it 400 yards. I hope he pulls an 18-wheeler with his teeth – which I believe he can do, because he may be 81, but his teeth are not old enough to vote yet.” “Not everyone is confident that Biden can bring it,” he noted, including several senior Democrats. The Senate majority leader, Chuck Schumer, who has publicly supported the president, has privately signaled to donors that he is open to a presidential ticket without Biden at the top. Though Biden has adamantly maintained that he is staying in the race and will win, NBC News reported that his campaign was quietly assessing the viability of Kamala Harris versus Donald Trump in a new head-to-head poll. “Gang, do not let Joe catch you doing that,” Colbert joked. And the New York Times reported that some Biden advisers were discussing how to convince him to step aside. “That is not going to be easy,” said Colbert. “They’re thinking about just putting a Klondike bar on a string and pulling it slowly down Pennsylvania Avenue.”

[Joe Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden)’s historic decision on Sunday to step down as the Democratic nominee for president signals an imminent end to one of the most consequential American political careers. At 81, the oldest president ever sworn in has finally yielded to time – and his own party. Someone else, possibly the vice-president, Kamala Harris, will face Donald Trump in November. Biden, who [endorsed](https://twitter.com/JoeBiden/status/1815087772216303933?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1815087772216303933%7Ctwgr%5E69d9e2a9172543b499cf128a453d7168ad0aadf3%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2Flive%2F2024%2Fjul%2F21%2Fbiden-drops-out-presidential-election) Harris on Sunday, will remain in the White House until January. But Democrats and Republicans will soon survey something new: a political landscape without Biden at its centre. Born in Pennsylvania in 1942, Biden attended the University of Delaware and Syracuse law school, became a public defender, then entered politics. A natural campaigner, in 1972, at just 29, he ran for US Senate, scoring a huge upset over J Caleb Boggs, a two-term Republican more than twice his age. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/21/biden-steps-down-political-career#img-2) Democratic senator-elect Joseph Biden takes his oath of citizenship. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive The same year, voters gave Richard Nixon a landslide win. Nixon was the 37th president. In 2021, Biden would become the 46th. In that 49-year span, as eight presidents came and went, Biden was a senator for 36 years, vice-president for eight. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/21/biden-steps-down-political-career#img-3) Joe Biden with his wife Neilia. Photograph: WWD/Penske Media/Getty Images As a junior senator, Biden suffered his first, but not last, tragedy when a [car crash](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/12/17/nixon-biden-recording-wife-accident/) killed his wife, Neilia Biden, and one-year-old daughter, Naomi, at Christmas in 1972. Biden became known for [riding the rails](https://newrepublic.com/article/179504/amtrak-joe-trains-climate), from Delaware to Washington DC and back, to care for his sons, Beau and Hunter, who survived the accident. He married his second wife, Jill Jacobs, in 1977, and their daughter, Ashley, was born four years later. For 17 years, Biden was a ranking member or chair of the Senate judiciary committee. He led five supreme court confirmations. In 1991 the nominee, Clarence Thomas, was accused of sexual harassment and Biden was widely seen to have mishandled the hearings. In 2019, he [said](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/joe-biden-handling-anita-hill-clarence-thomas-hearings/story?id=62665298#:~:text=She%20did%20not%20get%20treated,I%20take%20responsibility%20for%20that.%E2%80%9D) Thomas’s accuser, Anita Hill, “did not get treated well. I take responsibility for that.” Biden’s record on crime would also haunt him, particularly his support for a 1994 bill many say contributed to problems of mass incarceration and [racial injustice](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/17/joe-biden-race-crime-bill-1994-policing). Another 1994 bill, [banning assault weapons](https://www.npr.org/2023/04/01/1167467835/school-shooting-assault-weapons-ban-history), remained a source of pride. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/21/biden-steps-down-political-career#img-4) Members of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations listen as US secretary of state George Shultz testifies. From left to right: Paul Sarbanes, Joe Biden and Claiborne Pell. Photograph: Howard L Sachs/CNP/Getty Images For 11 years, Biden was chair or ranking member of the foreign relations committee. In 1991, he voted against the Gulf war. In 2002, after 9/11, he [voted](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2002/oct/11/usa.iraq) for the invasion of Iraq. He later said that vote was wrong. In 1987, Biden first ran for president. At 45, he sought comparison with John F Kennedy but as reported by Richard Ben Cramer in the campaign classic [What It Takes](https://books.google.com/books?id=djZWFPIatUMC&printsec=frontcover&dq=%22What+It+Takes%22+Cramer&hl=en&sa=X&ei=M1bsULj9Aaa50QGMwYDIAQ&ved=0CEIQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=false), youth, ambition and drive were not enough to prevent embarrassing failure. Biden took to quoting Neil Kinnock, then Labour leader in Britain, about being the first member of his family to go to college. Unfortunately, Biden stopped _saying_ he was quoting. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/21/biden-steps-down-political-career#img-5) Joe Biden stands with his family on the back of a train after announcing his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination. Photograph: Cynthia Johnson/Getty Images Kinnock [didn’t mind](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/07/neil-kinnock-joe-biden-1987-scandal) but the US press did. Biden’s freewheeling speaking style (and accompanying evocations of his [Irish ancestry](https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2023/mar/17/joe-biden-backs-ireland-six-nations-england)) often left him open to [error](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/apr/13/white-house-corrects-black-and-tans-to-all-blacks-after-biden-gaffe). But he was undoubtedly an effective communicator, all the more remarkably so given he stammered as a child. Months after abandoning his presidential campaign, Biden [suffered a brain aneurysm](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/14/biden-nearly-died-an-aneurysm-risky-surgery-changed-his-life/) so severe a priest was called to administer last rites. Months later, he suffered [another](https://www.nytimes.com/1988/05/04/us/biden-resting-after-surgery-for-second-brain-aneurysm.html). He was nothing if not resilient. Twenty years later, he ran for president again. A great [debate stage line](https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1405713849579118), about a Republican rival, went down in history: “Rudy Giuliani, there’s only three things he mentions in a sentence: a noun, a verb and 9/11.” But Biden soon dropped out. [skip past newsletter promotion](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/21/biden-steps-down-political-career#EmailSignup-skip-link-19) Sign up to The Stakes — US Election Edition The Guardian guides you through the chaos of a hugely consequential presidential election **Privacy Notice:** Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our [Privacy Policy](https://www.theguardian.com/help/privacy-policy). We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google [Privacy Policy](https://policies.google.com/privacy) and [Terms of Service](https://policies.google.com/terms) apply. after newsletter promotion Barack Obama won the nomination. When the Illinois senator, 47, picked Biden, 66, as his running mate, the New York Times [said](https://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/24/us/politics/24biden.html) Obama had acquired “a longtime Washington hand” who could “reassure voters” rather than “deliver a state or reinforce \[a\] message of change”. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/21/biden-steps-down-political-career#img-6) Barack Obama and running mate Joe Biden at a rally in Greensboro, North Carolina, on 27 September 2008. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images Biden spent eight years as vice-president, his working relationship with Obama, reporting [suggested](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/sep/24/the-long-alliance-review-biden-obama-imperfect-union-debenedetti), not quite so close as it was often portrayed. Biden played key roles in successes including [advancing LGBTQ+ rights](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/may/06/joe-biden-supports-gay-marriage), legislating to prevent [violence against women](https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/1is2many/about) and securing [healthcare reform](https://www.theguardian.com/world/richard-adams-blog/2010/mar/23/joe-biden-obama-big-fucking-deal-overheard). A push for gun reform [failed](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/25/gun-reform-laws-joe-biden-nra-senate). Biden eyed a third presidential run but in 2015 the [death of his son Beau](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/may/31/beau-biden-dies-of-brain-cancer) from brain cancer took a terrible toll. Furthermore, Obama [backed](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/09/obama-endorses-hillary-clinton-meeting-bernie-sanders) Hillary Clinton. Amid the chaos of the Trump years, Biden decided to run again. Significant support from Black voters propelled a primary win. In the year of Covid, campaign travel was limited. For a 77-year-old candidate, that [wasn’t much of a problem](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/feb/24/covid-best-thing-biden-anita-dunn-lucky-book-jonathan-allen-annie-parnes). Come the election, Biden won by [more than 7m votes](https://www.cookpolitical.com/2020-national-popular-vote-tracker) and with electoral college ease.  Why Joe Biden has dropped out of the presidential race - video explainer The first major book on 2020 was called [Lucky: How Joe Biden Barely Won the Presidency](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/mar/07/lucky-review-how-biden-beat-trump-and-doubters-like-obama-and-hillary). Regardless, his campaign message about a “[battle for the soul of America](https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/may/22/battle-for-the-soul-review-biden-trump-obama)” fueled two productive years. With congressional Democrats, Biden secured major legislation, boosting the economy after Covid, securing infrastructure investment and funding the climate crisis fight. Trump had incited an attack on Congress, but Trumpism would not die. Republicans took back the House. Biden oversaw foreign policy disaster – the chaotic [withdrawal](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/16/biden-afghanistan-withdrawal-book) from Afghanistan – and success, marshalling support for Ukraine against Russia. The dam could not hold. Questions about Biden’s age and fitness ran at a hum before the [disastrous debate](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/27/trump-biden-cnn-presidential-debate-reaction-highlights) in Atlanta in June saw Democratic dissent burst through. At first, Biden displayed characteristic fire, blaming “elites” to which he never felt he belonged, vowing to fight on. But then Trump survived [an assassination attempt](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donald-trump-pennsylvania-rally-shooting) and emerged seemingly stronger than ever. Democratic calls for Biden to quit grew louder. Eventually, he heard them.

[Joe Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden) announced he would not stay in the [2024 presidential race](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/21/joe-biden-withdraw-running-president), throwing his supporting behind his vice-president, [Kamala Harris](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/kamala-harris). [In his letter](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/21/read-joe-biden-letter), Biden called Harris an “extraordinary partner” and said choosing her to serve as vice-president was “the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.” In a [statement](https://x.com/KamalaHarris/status/1815122383415529963) on Twitter/X, Harris said: “I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country. “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination,” she said on X. **Here is Kamala Harris’s full statement:** > On behalf of the American people, I thank Joe Biden for his extraordinary leadership as President of the United States and for his decades of service to our country. His remarkable legacy of accomplishment is unmatched in modern American history, surpassing the legacy of many Presidents who have served two terms in office. > > It is a profound honor to serve as his Vice President, and I am deeply grateful to the President, Dr. Biden, and the entire Biden family. I first came to know President Biden through his son Beau. We were friends from our days working together as Attorneys General of our home states. As we worked together, Beau would tell me stories about his Dad. The kind of father—and the kind of man—he was. And the qualities Beau revered in his father are the same qualities, the same values, I have seen every single day in Joe’s leadership as President: His honesty and integrity. His big heart and commitment to his faith and his family. And his love of our country and the American people. > > With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else. > > I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination. Over the past year, I have traveled across the country, talking with Americans about the clear choice in this momentous election. And that is what I will continue to do in the days and weeks ahead. I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda. > > We have 107 days until Election Day. Together, we will fight. And together, we will win.

Published6 hours agoUpdated6 hours ago We may earn a commission from links on this page.  President Joe Biden dropped out of the running to secure a second term as president in the 2024 election. [He endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris](https://x.com/JoeBiden/status/1815087772216303933) to be the presidential nominee for the Democratic Party.Biden, 81, made the announcement Sunday. It’s a historic decision for the party just a month out from the Democratic convention and four months out from the general election.

Jul 21, 2024 4:58 PM “Team, sharing with you the letter from President Biden that was released just now,” read an email president Joe Biden’s campaign managers sent.  [President Joe Biden's](https://www.wired.com/story/joe-biden-drops-out-of-2024-election/) reelection campaign staff didn't receive official communication that he was dropping out until nearly 20 minutes after the announcement went up on social media. When they finally did get an email, it directed them to Biden's [post on X](https://www.wired.com/story/elon-musk-is-all-in-on-endorsing-trump-his-ai-chatbot-grok-is-not/). “Team, sharing with you the letter from President Biden that was released just now. We will have more information later this afternoon,” Biden campaign managers Jen O’Malley Dillon and Julie Chavez Rodriguez wrote in an all staff email timestamped at 2:03 pm Eastern. “Look out for an invite to an all staff call. We are so grateful to be part of this team with you all. More soon.” The email linked to a letter Biden had posted on X more than 15 minutes earlier, at 1:46 pm ET, announcing that he would no longer be seeking reelection. Politico [reported](https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2024/07/21/joe-biden-drops-out-election/biden-team-calling-delegates-drop-out-00170032) that campaign aides were whipping delegates at the very moment the letter was posted. The New York Times [reported](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/07/21/us/biden-drops-out-election) that aides as senior as Anita Dunn, who manages communications strategy for Biden, learned that Biden would be withdrawing from the race one minute before the world did. The future of the Biden campaign apparatus is unclear at publication time; CNN reported that discussions were already underway to bring on aides who worked for former president Barack Obama to support a campaign for vice president Kamala Harris, who has vowed to “earn and win” the Democratic Party’s nomination. This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Jul 21, 2024 2:12 PM President Joe Biden announced Sunday that he would “stand down” from his reelection campaign.  US president Joe Biden delivers remarks during the CNN presidential debate on June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia.Photograph: Justin Sullivan; Getty Images President Joe Biden dropped out of the presidential race on Sunday following a nearly monthlong pressure campaign mounted by Democratic leaders and donors to oust him. “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your President,” Biden [wrote](https://x.com/JoeBiden/status/1815080881981190320) in a letter posted to X on Sunday. “And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.” The letter did not provide additional detail on how the Democratic Party might decide its next ticket, but Biden wrote that he would “speak to the Nation later this week in more detail about my decision.” Biden called Vice President Kamala Harris “an extraordinary partner” in the letter, and subsequently [posted](https://x.com/JoeBiden/status/1815087772216303933) to offer her his “full support and endorsement.” If Harris takes over, she will likely control the $240 million campaign war chest raised by the campaign over the past few years, [according to CNBC](https://www.cnbc.com/2024/07/03/kamala-harris-allies-strategize-in-case-biden-drops-out.html). [Donors](https://www.semafor.com/article/07/20/2024/democrats-detail-blitz-primary-options-to-replace-biden) and, reportedly, [Nancy Pelosi](https://www.politico.com/news/2024/07/19/pelosi-support-open-nomination-biden-drop-out-00169893) have voiced support for an open nomination process of some sort. “With this selfless and patriotic act, President Biden is doing what he has done throughout his life of service: putting the American people and our country above everything else,” Harris said in a statement Sunday. “I am honored to have the president’s endorsement and my intention is to earn and win this nomination.” Biden’s unprecedented decision comes at the end of an extraordinary three-week period that started with a debate against Republican nominee Donald Trump in late June. In that debate, Biden, whose age and physical condition were already major issues in the election, appeared nearly incoherent at times. Subsequently, donors, newspaper editorial boards, and elected officials began calling for his resignation. Democratic megadonors Laurene Powell Jobs and Ron Conway, among others, began discussing how Biden could be replaced before or during the Democratic National Convention, [the New York Times reported](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/29/us/politics/biden-donors-democrats.html)**.** “I have seen some emails from people in Silicon Valley who said, ‘I'm not going to donate more until I have more confidence,’” Reid Hoffman, LinkedIn founder and Biden donor, told WIRED earlier this month. Many Democrats, including some of Biden’s key allies, also raised concerns over the president’s viability as a candidate going forward and reportedly mounted pressure campaigns to encourage Biden’s withdrawal from the election. In television interviews shortly after the debate, party leaders like representatives Nancy Pelosi and Jim Clyburn said that it was fair to question Biden’s fitness for office. “I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?’” said Pelosi in an interview with MSNBC. Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries reportedly told the president that party members were concerned about down-ballot elections should Biden stay on the ticket. Others, like senators Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Martin Heinrich of New Mexico, along with [a number of representatives](https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/democrats-who-have-called-on-joe-biden-step-down/story?id=111854551), called for Biden to drop out of the election. An assassination attempt made against Trump briefly seemed to quell the revolt, but reports that Pelosi and Schumer had directly told Biden they did not believe he had a viable path to reelection showed that Biden’s political support had collapsed, and seemed to mark the end. Pelosi also privately told Biden that polling showed an increasingly dire forecast for Democrats with Biden on top of the ticket, [according to CNN](https://edition.cnn.com/2024/07/17/politics/nancy-pelosi-biden-conversation/index.html). The Democratic candidate will face a Republican Party newly energized by the victory of its populist wing and an alliance with powerful Silicon Valley investors like Elon Musk—both represented in the ascension of 39-year-old Peter Thiel acolyte J.D. Vance to the ticket as Trump’s vice president and heir apparent. "Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for President, and is certainly not fit to serve," Trump posted on Truth Social. Earlier, Vance [posted](https://x.com/JDVance1/status/1815020646520230262), “If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining President?” “For now, let me express my deepest gratitude to all those who have worked so hard to see me reelected,” Biden wrote.

* US senator Joseph Biden of Delaware addresses Drexel University alumni in October 1974. Biden was the youngest US senator at that time. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-1) * Senator-elect Joseph Biden and wife Neilia cut his 30th birthday cake at a party in Wilmington on 20 November 1972. His son, Hunter waits for the first piece. Biden fulfilled the constitutional requirement of senators being 30 years of age when they take office. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-2) * Senator Joseph Biden takes the oath of office in January 1972 from the US Senate’s secretary, Frank Valeo with his father-in-law Robert Hunter and son Joseph Beau Biden at his side, in Beau’s hospital room. Beau and his brother Robert Hunter were injured in an auto accident that killed their mother Neilia and younger sister Amy. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-3) * Recently elected British Conservative party leader Margaret Thatcher (1925 -2013) (center) talks with US senator Joseph Biden (left) and US senator and chairman of the Senate foreign relations committee John Sparkman (1899 -1985) during a luncheon in her honor in the US Capitol’s foreign relations committee room, Washington DC, on 18 September 1975. Photograph: Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-4) * Joe Biden points out a friend in the crowd at the Padua Academy to President Jimmy Carter during a fundraiser in February 1978. Carter spent the evening in Wilmington campaigning for Biden as he ran for a second term. Photograph: Bettmann/Bettmann Archive  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-5) * Before the US Senate committee on foreign relations during the third day of hearings on the SALT II treaty, physicist and US secretary of defense Harold Brown (1927 -2019) (standing right, in dark suit) points to a chart (to illustrate the build-up of US and Soviet missiles), Washington, DC, in July 1979. Among those visible are US Senators George McGovern (seated at table, fourth left), Joseph Biden (next to McGovern, taking notes), and Edmund Muskie (seated at table, second right). Photograph: Consolidated News Pictures/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-6) * Sen. Joe Biden holds his daughter Ashley while taking a mock oath of office from Vice President George Bush during a ceremony in January 1985, on Capitol Hill, in Washington. Biden’s sons Beau and Hunter hold the bible during the ceremony. Photograph: Lana Harris/AP  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-7) * In September 1988, then Senator Joe Biden on the metro liner to Washington DC. He was returning to work in the Senate having suffered an aneurysm, which was life threatening. Photograph: Joe McNally/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-8) * Biden kissing wife Jill’s forehead after announcing his bid for 1988 Democratic presidential nomination. Photograph: Steve Liss/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-9) * Biden as the chairman of the Senate judicary committee poses with Supreme Court associate justice nominee Clarence Thomas during the confirmation hearings in July 1991. Photograph: Mark Reinstein/Corbis/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-10) * Biden and Senate Armed Services ranking Republican John Warner talk to media outside US Capitol police headquarters in the early afternoon after the September 11 terror attacks in 2001. Photograph: Scott J Ferrell/CQ-Roll Call, Inc/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-11) * Biden meets with Afghan students at Ariana High school in January 2002 during his visit to Kabul, Afghanistan. Photograph: Paula Bronstein/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-12) * Senator Barack Obama(L), talks with Joe Biden during a hearing of the Senate foreign relations committee on Capitol Hill on 11 April 2005 in Washington, DC. The committee is conducting hearings on the nomination of John Bolton to be the US ambassador to the United Nations. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-13) * Biden commutes from his home in Wilmington, Delaware via Amtrak on to Washington DC. and to work on Capitol Hill in July 2005. Photograph: The Washington Post/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-14) * Biden chairs a Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing titled ‘Where We Are: The Current Situation in Iraq,’, in January 2007 in Washington, DC. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-15) * Presumptive Democratic presidential candidate US Sen Barack Obama takes to the stage with his Vice Presidential pick Sen Joe Biden at the Old State Capitol in August 2008 in Springfield, Illinois. Obama announced Biden as his vice-presidential running mate with a text message in the early morning in August 2008. Photograph: Joe Raedle/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-16) * US Democratic vice-presidential nominee Sen Joe Biden (R) hugs his son Delaware attorney general Beau Biden, during day three of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) in August 2008 in Denver, Colorado. Photograph: John Moore/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-17) * US President Barack Obama (L) and Vice-President Joe Biden laugh during the annual St Patrick’s Day Reception in the East Room of the White House, in March 2010 in Washington, DC. Photograph: Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-18) * In this handout image provided by the White House, President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and members of the national security team receive an update on the mission against Osama bin Laden in the Situation Room of the White House on 1 May 2011 in Washington, DC. Obama later announced that the US had killed Bin Laden in an operation led by US special forces at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. Photograph: The White House/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-19) * US President Barack Obama awards Vice President Joe Biden the Presidential Medal of Freedom during a tribute to Biden at the White House in Washington, DC, on January 12, 2017. Photograph: Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-20) * Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (L) and British prime minister David Cameron laugh as Vice President Joe Biden (R) makes a joke about asking his Irish ancestors for forgiveness for hosting Cameron for lunch at the State Department in March 2012 in Washington, DC. Photograph: Brendan Hoffman/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-21) * Television screens airing the first presidential debate at Walters Sports Bar in September 2020 in Washington, DC. Americans across the country tuned in to the first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden held in Cleveland. Photograph: Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-22) * Joe Biden (L) is sworn in as the 46th US president by Supreme Court chief justice John Roberts (R) in January 2021, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. Photograph: Andrew Harnik/AFP/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-23) * US president Joe Biden (L) and Russian president Vladimir Putin (R) pose for press ahead of the US-Russia summit at the Villa La Grange, in Geneva in June 2021. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-24) * US president Joe Biden embraces Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson as they watch the Senate vote on her nomination to be an associate justice on the US Supreme Court, from the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, DC in April 2022. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-25) * Joe Biden walks with Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky through the colonnade of the White House, in Washington, DC on 21 December 2022. Zelensky was in Washington to meet with Biden and address Congress -- his first trip abroad since Russia invaded in February. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-26) * Joe Biden, First Lady Jill Biden, Hawaii Governor Josh Green, and wife Jaime Green walk along Front Street to inspect wildfire damage in Lahaina, Hawaii on 21 August 2023. Photograph: Mandel Ngan/AFP/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-27) * US President Joe Biden awards actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus with the 2021 National Medal of Arts during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, in March 2023. Photograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-28) * Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump on stage during the first presidential debate of the 2024 elections at CNN’s studios in Atlanta, Georgia, on 27 June 2024. Photograph: Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-29) * President Joe Biden leaves a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School on 5 July 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin. Biden was then due to sit down for a network interview as the campaign scrambled to put in place damage control after Biden’s poor performance at the debate. Photograph: Scott Olson/Getty Images  [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2024/jul/22/joe-bidens-political-career-across-the-decades-in-pictures#img-30)

_Welcome to Best of Late Night, a rundown of the previous night’s highlights that lets you sleep — and lets us get paid to watch comedy. Here are the_ [_50 best movies on Netflix right now_](https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/arts/television/best-movies-on-netflix.html)_._ [President Biden bowed out of the 2024 presidential race](https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/21/us/politics/biden-drops-out.html) on Sunday. “It’s shocking, but this makes sense,” Stephen Colbert said. “It’ll give him time to rest up for 2028.” > “He steered this country out of a horrific pandemic, he saved countless lives by encouraging people to get vaccinated, he brought the economy back, he rallied our allies, he reasserted America’s place in the world stage, and most inspiring of all, at no time was he Donald Trump.” _— STEPHEN COLBERT_ Colbert officially retired his Joe Biden aviator sunglasses on Monday, saying they had done “the hardest job of all:They made it seem like I had a Joe Biden impression.” > “But I do not have a Kamala Harris impression, so she’s wearing aviators, too.” _— STEPHEN COLBERT_ > > “I am officially retiring all of my ‘Joe Biden is old’ jokes, OK? They were starting to get tired anyway. Just like Joe Biden. That was the last one! I swear. Now I’m going to unretire them to use on Donald Trump.” _— STEPHEN COLBERT_ > “Typically, on Sundays, everyone thinks about quitting their job, but Biden is the first person to actually go through with it.” _— JIMMY FALLON_ > > “Yeah, it was one of the rare times every cable news graphic said ‘Breaking news’ and it was breaking news.” _— JIMMY FALLON_ > > “Well, he didn’t, like, drop out so much as he kind of just, like, wandered off, you know what I’m saying?” _— LAMORNE MORRIS, guest host of “Jimmy Kimmel Live”_ > “Biden is now getting credit for guiding us through the pandemic, creating millions of jobs, rebuilding our nation’s crumbling infrastructure and eliminating billions in student loans. Democrats heard that and were like, ‘Hey, this guy should run for president!’” _— JIMMY FALLON_ > > “Following the big news, Biden supporters gathered around the White House to thank him for dropping out of the race. Biden’s not quite sure how to feel, you know? I mean, ‘thanks for leaving’ is not really a compliment, you know?” _— JIMMY FALLON_ Jimmy Kimmel’s guest host, Lamorne Morris, offered a few helpful tips for being “Caucasian at the Cookout.” Hugh Jackman, star of “Deadpool & Wolverine,” will appear on Tuesday’s “Tonight Show.” James Earl Jones, left, and Andre Braugher in “Homicide: Life on the Street.” The series begins streaming on Peacock on Aug. 19.Credit...Michael Ginsburg/NBC, via Getty Images

[  Russian prisoners arrive in Moscow following swap ------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c0dmemx80m2o) [  Russian TV shows freed prisoners board plane after swap ------------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c6p2yplx062o) [  Watch: Moscow's Europe Square renamed Eurasia Square ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cnl0pqkyqxko) [  Kamala Harris: From prosecutor to possible president ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/c3g93n142rpo) [  Not an easy decision - Starmer on Biden standing down ----------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cmj21j78d0po) [  Watch: Biden’s disastrous few weeks... in 90 seconds ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cx028eq4qg1o) [  Biden says he feels 'good' after positive Covid test ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cgxqz303ygqo) [  'No place in America for this' - Biden on shooting -------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cv2gn5peeppo) [  Biden says Kamala Harris 'qualified to be president' ---------------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cn07d3mjz2po) [  Biden is on 'really good form' says Starmer ------------------------------------------- ](/news/videos/cxw2k33l89do)

When a reporter asked if the White House had already started the transition process, Karine Jean-Pierre seemed bemused. “Why?” [the press secretary retorted](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2024/08/06/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-65/). “Are you trying to kick us out already? We’ve got five months.” Whatever excitement there is in American politics at the moment, the White House is not the centre of the action. What was expected to be a hectic final sprint towards the presidential election, with Joe Biden pinballing [between swing-state rallies](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/may/25/joe-biden-michigan-georgia-campaign), has been replaced by long, languorous afternoons in humid Washington. Since 81-year-old Biden ended his re-election campaign after losing the confidence of fellow Democrats, his schedule has been appreciably quieter and his public appearances more scarce. As the party’s new nominee, Vice-President Kamala Harris, 59, barnstorms the country and [electrifies crowds](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/06/kamala-harris-running-mate-tim-walz), there are some days when Biden lies low and is not seen at all. Jean-Pierre recently acknowledged that the president and White House were still “recalibrating” after his decision. “We are trying to figure out what the next six months are going to look like,” [she told journalists](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/press-briefings/2024/07/31/press-briefing-by-press-secretary-karine-jean-pierre-secretary-of-agriculture-tom-vilsack-and-national-security-advisor-john-kirby/). “Just give us a beat.” Such absences can create an impression that Biden is less running through the tape than staggering across the finish line. The vacuum can be filled by baseless rightwing conspiracy theories suggesting that Biden is no longer fit for office and that Harris, former president Barack Obama or some other deep state operative is actually running the government. However, analysts say, Biden is making a deliberate choice to work on cementing his legacy – and ensuring the election of Harris to protect it from Republican rival Donald Trump. Though his relevance is diminished, the fact he no longer needs to worry about getting re-elected could prove liberating. Domestically he hopes to keep money flowing from a [series of major legislative wins early in his term](https://apnews.com/article/biden-political-legacy-presidential-election-5aee4f47ecb317d4f6ef2a2148eba1d8) that could be undone should Trump return to the White House. He will press to quickly fill federal judiciary vacancies and last month he proposed reforms for the supreme court, calling on Congress to establish term limits and an [enforceable ethics code](https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-biden-ethics-term-limits-b281a03f8ce2df60109f60722619cc4d) for the nine justices. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/10/joe-biden-final-months-legacy#img-2) Joe Biden gets his flowers now, at Janssen’s Market in Greenville, Delaware, last Saturday. Photograph: Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP Foreign policy represents Biden’s best hope for a final defining moment. Last week he helped secure the release of the Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, former US marine Paul Whelan and others in [the biggest prisoner swap](https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/01/evan-gershkovich-other-foreign-citizens-freed-russia-prisoner-swap) between Moscow and the US since the cold war. Now he is racing against the clock to persuade Israel and Hamas to agree to his proposed [three-phase ceasefire deal](https://apnews.com/article/biden-israel-hamas-58169a607d4a7c4d7fc34f43160076b8) to bring home remaining Israeli hostages and potentially pave the way for an end to the 10-month-old war in Gaza. At the same time, he is desperate to avoid tensions with Iran escalating into an all-out regional conflagration. [Bill Galston](https://www.brookings.edu/people/william-a-galston/), a former policy adviser to President Bill Clinton, said: “I would imagine that he is going to devote a lot of time and energy to the situation in the Middle East. He surely doesn’t want history to record that the final months of his tenure witnessed the outbreak of the first comprehensive Middle East war in decades, a war that he, like others, has been struggling to avoid. “I would think that it’s going to be all hands on deck to try to contain the ripples of the Iranian attack when it comes, to try to prevent Israel and Hezbollah from moving from tit-for-tat to something much worse, and finally figure out a way of getting the Gaza ceasefire done.” Governing well might also be a more effective way of helping Harris than making speeches. Enthusiasm for the vice-president at rallies and online has already far exceeded anything that he could muster. Biden is not expected to feature prominently as a campaign surrogate for reasons of both style and substance. His low approval rating, especially on issues such as immigration, inflation and Gaza, would saddle his deputy with unwanted baggage. Moreover, the gaffe-prone oldest president in American history would not be a natural fit for Harris’s optimistic, future-focused campaign. Her running mate, Tim Walz, told her this week: “Thank you for [bringing back the joy](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/08/07/walz-first-day-democratic-energy/).” Galston, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution thinktank in Washington, added: “She needs a chance to separate herself from him without breaking ranks with him and that will be easier if she draws a bright line between her candidacy and his presidency. I’m not saying that he should become invisible but I don’t think he should be highly visible either, except in his presidential capacity.” Past lame-duck presidents have used their waning days to seek one more big policy win. In 2000 Clinton [launched negotiations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2000_Camp_David_Summit) between the Israeli prime minister, Ehud Barak, and the Palestinian Authority leader, Yasser Arafat, at Camp David in one last – and ultimately doomed – effort at securing Middle East peace. In 2008 George W Bush signed into law a $700bn bailout of the financial services industry as the global crisis deepened. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/aug/10/joe-biden-final-months-legacy#img-3) Joe Biden has given Kamala Harris ‘a head start and a very healthy start in this 90-day marathon’, according to the Democratic insider Donna Brazile. Photograph: Evan Vucci/AP But Biden may still be brooding over how a dismal debate performance in June destroyed his hopes of a second term. He is reportedly smarting over those who orchestrated the end of his 51-year political career and the even swifter embrace of Harris as his replacement. His first in-depth interview since the announcement will be [broadcast on CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/president-joe-biden-talks-exclusively-with-cbs-sunday-morning-about-withdrawing-from-race/) on Sunday. [Larry Jacobs](https://www.hhh.umn.edu/directory/larry-jacobs), director of the Center for the Study of Politics and Governance at the University of Minnesota, said: “I can imagine that there’s a lot of frustration in Biden world because Biden would most definitely like to be rounding out his administration and pursuing his policies but the energy and the resources of the Democratic party are about winning the next election.” Jacobs added: “If he is campaigning he becomes the subject of the Trump campaign for being frail and clueless. There’s nothing good that Joe Biden can do. Also, [Kamala Harris](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/kamala-harris) needs to clearly identify herself as a distinct and separate brand and she can’t do that if Joe Biden is on the campaign trail.” However, Biden is still sure to receive a rapturous welcome later this month in Chicago, where he is expected to give a prime-time address on the first night of the [Democratic national convention](https://demconvention.com/) before leaving the stage clear for Harris and Walz. The party will be eager to project unity and gratitude for his selfless act in passing the torch. [Donna Brazile](https://www.donnabrazile.com/), a political strategist and former interim chair of the Democratic National Committee, said: “He has done more to get this country on the right track than any other president at least in modern history and it’s up to him to decide when and where he will enter in the 2024 race. “Look, he left the vice-president with millions in the bank, with hundreds of thousands of volunteers, over 400 campaign offices. I don’t know how much more we want from [Joe Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden) but he has given the vice-president a head start and a very healthy start in this 90-day marathon.”

Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature President-elect [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) has pledged to pardon those convicted after storming the US Capitol in Washington on January 2021 and took the opportunity to raise the issue. “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? “Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social social media platform. [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d7a868f0816561c4a05cf#block-674d7a868f0816561c4a05cf) Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Coming just weeks before he leaves office, Joe Biden’s decision to pardon his son Hunter has already attracted controversy and driven debate in Washington. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates#img-2) US president Joe Biden hugs his son Hunter Biden -pictured in July Photograph: Evan Vucci/EPA But it isn’t first time he has exercised his power to benefit those convicted of criminal offences. He [previously pardoned](https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/dec/22/biden-pardons-thousands-convicted-of-marijuana-possessions) thousands of people given criminal records for marijuana use and possession on federal lands and also granted clemency to 11 people serving what the White House called “disproportionately long” sentences for nonviolent drug offences. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates#img-3) Thousands were pardoned for marijuana offences Photograph: Miami Herald/TNS No one was freed from prison under last year’s action, but the pardons were meant to help thousands overcome obstacles to renting a home or finding a job. [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d9e638f088c7046fe1520#block-674d9e638f088c7046fe1520) Joe Biden’s decision has split Democrats on Capitol Hill (we reported on [some Republican reaction](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?page=with:block-674d75108f088c7046fe13a4#block-674d75108f088c7046fe13a4) in our post at 9.54am GMT). Jared Polis, the Democratic governor of Colorado, criticised Biden’s decision. “While as a father I certainly understand President Joe Biden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country,” [Polis said on X](https://x.com/jaredpolis/status/1863392145669046677), as reported by NBC News, which was the first to break the news of the presidential pardon. “This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.” Arizona congressman Greg Stanton, also a Democrat said he thought Biden “got this one wrong.” “This wasn’t a politically-motivated prosecution,” Stanton [said, also on X](https://x.com/RepGregStanton/status/1863401113946345599). “Hunter committed felonies, and was convicted by a jury of his peers.” However, former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang, now an independent, [wrote on X](https://x.com/AndrewYang/status/1863412036744482825), “Joe Biden pardoning Hunter looks bad but most fathers would do the same thing under the circumstances.” [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d9b678f088c7046fe150e#block-674d9b678f088c7046fe150e) If you’re just waking up, here is a round-up of developments since US president [Joe Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden) announcing he was pardoning his son following his convictions for federal gun and tax offences. [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d98468f0816561c4a0709#block-674d98468f0816561c4a0709) The US president has come under criticism for a perceived reversal over his stance on pardoning his son. As recently as November 8, days after Trump’s victory, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre ruled out a pardon or clemency for the younger Biden, saying, “We’ve been asked that question multiple times. Our answer stands, which is no.” [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates#img-4) White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP “I said I’d abide by the jury decision, and I will do that. And I will not pardon him,” Biden also told reporters at the G7 summit in June When asked if he planned to commute Hunter Biden’s sentence, the president mouthed “no”, according to the BBC. [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d920e8f086137725690ba#block-674d920e8f086137725690ba) President-elect Donald Trump - [as we reported in our post at 9.52am GMT](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?page=with:block-674d7a868f0816561c4a05cf#block-674d7a868f0816561c4a05cf) - responded angrily to Joe Biden’s pardon. But he himself pardoned several allies and friends in own final days in office among the 70 people granted clemency in 2021. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates#img-5) Donald Trump Photograph: Brandon Bell/Reuters As [this list details](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/20/trump-pardons-and-commutations-the-full-list), they included former aide Steve Bannon, rapper Lil Wayne, and his daughter’s father-in-law Charles Kushner, whom he has now nominated as ambassador for France. The use of presidential pardons have long been a feature of [US politics](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-politics), as my colleague Luke Harding previously reported, below. [ US presidential pardons: a potted history of a shabby convention ](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/19/us-presidential-pardons-potted-history-donald-trump-white-house) [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d8cdd8f0816561c4a0683#block-674d8cdd8f0816561c4a0683) _Executive Grant of Clemency Joseph R. Biden, Jr. President of the United States of America To All to Whom These Presents Shall Come, Greeting: Be It Known, That This Day, I, Joseph R. Biden, Jr., President of the United States, Pursuant to My Powers Under Article II, Section 2, Clause 1, of the Constitution, Have Granted Unto ROBERT HUNTER BIDEN A Full and Unconditional Pardon For those offenses against the United States which he has committed or may have committed or taken part in during the period from January 1, 2014 through December 1, 2024, including but not limited to all offenses charged or prosecuted (including any that have resulted in convictions) by Special Counsel David C. Weiss in Docket No. 1:23-cr-00061-MN in the United States District Court for the District of Delaware and Docket No. 2:23-CR-00599-MCS-1 in the United States District Court for the Central District of California. IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF I have hereunto signed my name and caused the Pardon to be recorded with the Department of Justice._ _Done at the City of Washington this 1st day of December in the year of our Lord Two Thousand and Twenty-four and of the Independence of the United States the Two Hundred and Forty-ninth._ [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d8ab68f0816561c4a0671#block-674d8ab68f0816561c4a0671) Two months before Hunter arrived in court for his federal tax proceedings, he appeared in court with his mother Jill Biden and wife Melissa Cohen Biden, in Wilmington, Delaware. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates#img-6) Hunter Biden with his wife Melissa Cohen Biden at the federal court for his trial on criminal gun charges Photograph: Hannah Beier/Reuters After three hours of deliberation and a week long trial, jurors found him guilty on all three felony counts he faced relating to buying a handgun while being a user of crack cocaine. Biden was accused of making two false statements when filling out a form to buy a Colt revolver in October 2018: first by stating untruthfully that he was not addicted to or using drugs, and then by declaring the statement to be true. A third charge alleged that he then illegally owned the gun for 11 days, before his sister-in-law and then lover, Hallie Biden, threw it in a trash bin in a panic. The prosecution called other members of the Biden family, including his former wife, Kathleen Buhle, to whom he was married for 24 years, and Hallie Biden, the widow of his brother Beau, as it tried to show that Hunter’s drug use had continued during 2018 and 2019. The testimony painted a portrait of [Hunter Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/hunter-biden) falling deeper into addiction as he struggled to cope with the death of Beau, who died from brain cancer in 2015. After the breakup of his marriage, he formed a romantic relationship with Hallie Biden, who admitted to having smoked crack with him. **Full story below** [ Hunter Biden found guilty on all three charges in federal gun case ](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/11/hunter-biden-gun-charges-verdict) [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d87608f088c7046fe1449#block-674d87608f088c7046fe1449) As we reported [in our post at 9.19amGMT](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?page=with:block-674d513f8f0816561c4a04c3#block-674d513f8f0816561c4a04c3), Hunter Biden was due to be sentenced for his conviction on federal gun charges on 12 December, with his sentencing on the tax case due on 16 December. The 54-year-old [pleaded guilty to nine federal tax charges](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/sep/05/hunter-biden-guilty-plea-tax-avoidance-case) on September 5 on what was a day fraught with confrontation with prosecutors. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates#img-7) Hunter Biden leaves federal court in Los Angeles Photograph: David Swanson/Reuters The charges carried a possible 17 year prison sentence. Biden was accused of failing to pay his taxes on time from 2016 to 2019, as well as facing two felony counts of filing a false return and an additional felony count of tax evasion. He initially pleaded not guilty to the charges and his attorneys had indicated they would argue he did not act “willfully”, or with the intention to break the law, in part because of his well-documented struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. **Read the full details below** [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d80b38f08613772569004#block-674d80b38f08613772569004) Joe Biden, in [his statement earlier](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-hunter-pardon-statement), took aim at his political opponents for selectively targeting Hunter Biden for prosecution over gun purchase offences. Those same opponents have now responded by accusing the president of lying about his family’s activity during his political career. “Joe Biden has lied from start to finish about his family’s corrupt influence peddling activities,” said Representative James Comer, chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability in a post on X. [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates#img-8) Chairman Rep. James Comer Photograph: Ben Curtis/AP “Not only has he falsely claimed that he never met with his son’s foreign business associates and that his son did nothing wrong, but he also lied when he said he would not pardon [Hunter Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/hunter-biden). “The charges Hunter faced were just the tip of the iceberg in the blatant corruption that President Biden and the Biden Crime Family have lied about to the American people.” [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d75108f088c7046fe13a4#block-674d75108f088c7046fe13a4) President-elect [Donald Trump](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/donaldtrump) has pledged to pardon those convicted after storming the US Capitol in Washington on January 2021 and took the opportunity to raise the issue. “Does the Pardon given by Joe to Hunter include the J-6 Hostages, who have now been imprisoned for years? “Such an abuse and miscarriage of Justice!” Trump said in a post on his Truth Social social media platform. [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d7a868f0816561c4a05cf#block-674d7a868f0816561c4a05cf)  David Smith A loving act of mercy by a father who has already known much sorrow? Or a hypocritical political manoeuvre reminiscent of his great foe? Maybe both can be true. Joe Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he had [pardoned his son Hunter](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/01/joe-biden-pardons-hunter), who is facing sentencing in two criminal cases, is likely to have been the product of a Shakespearean struggle between head and heart. On the one hand, Biden is one of the last great institutionalists in Washington. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making,” he said in an unusually direct and personal [statement](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-hunter-pardon-statement) on Sunday. To undermine the separation of powers goes against every fibre of his political being. On the other hand, Biden is nothing without family. His speeches are peppered with references to his parents. As a senator, he [once took a train](https://www.npr.org/2024/08/19/g-s1-17885/ashley-biden-democratic-national-convention) from Washington to Wilmington, Delaware, so he could blow out the candles on a birthday cake for his eight-year-old daughter, Ashley, at the station, then cross the platform and take the next train back to work. Biden was profoundly shaped by the death of his first wife, Neilia [Hunter Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/hunter-biden), and 13-month-old daughter Naomi in a car accident and, much later, the death of his son Beau from brain cancer. In that context, Hunter’s status as the first child of a sitting president to face criminal charges will have pained his father in what Ernest Hemingway called “the broken places”. **Read my full analysis below** [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d7f178f08613772568ffc#block-674d7f178f08613772568ffc) > _Today, I signed a pardon for my son Hunter. From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making, and I kept my word even as I have watched my son being selectively, and unfairly, prosecuted. Without aggravating factors like use in a crime, multiple purchases, or buying a weapon as a straw purchaser, people are almost never brought to trial on felony charges solely for how they filled out a gun form. Those who were late paying their taxes because of serious addictions, but paid them back subsequently with interest and penalties, are typically given non-criminal resolutions. It is clear that Hunter was treated differently._ > > _The charges in his cases came about only after several of my political opponents in Congress instigated them to attack me and oppose my election. Then, a carefully negotiated plea deal, agreed to by the Department of Justice, unraveled in the court room – with a number of my political opponents in Congress taking credit for bringing political pressure on the process. Had the plea deal held, it would have been a fair, reasonable resolution of Hunter’s cases._ > > _No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong. There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough._ > > _For my entire career I have followed a simple principle: just tell the American people the truth. They’ll be fair-minded. Here’s the truth: I believe in the justice system, but as I have wrestled with this, I also believe raw politics has infected this process and it led to a miscarriage of justice – and once I made this decision this weekend, there was no sense in delaying it further. I hope Americans will understand why a father and a President would come to this decision._ [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d7c4f8f088c7046fe13e6#block-674d7c4f8f088c7046fe13e6) Hunter Biden issued a statement following his father’s announcement [](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates#img-9) Hunter Biden said he will never take the clemency he has been given for granted Photograph: Michael Reynolds/EPA “I have admitted and taken responsibility for my mistakes during the darkest days of my addiction - mistakes that have been exploited to publicly humiliate and shame me and my family for political sport,” Hunter Biden said in a statement on Sunday, adding he had remained sober for more than five years. “In the throes of addiction, I squandered many opportunities and advantages ... I will never take the clemency I have been given today for granted and will devote the life I have rebuilt to helping those who are still sick and suffering.” [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d6f5b8f08613772568f80#block-674d6f5b8f08613772568f80) Hello and welcome to our live coverage of [US politics](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/us-politics). On Sunday night, before boarding a plane to Angola, US president [Joe Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden) issued a pardon to his son Hunter – something he had repeatedly said he would not do. Biden said he hoped the American people would understand his decision to issue the pardons over convictions on federal gun and tax charges. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” he said. Hunter Biden was scheduled to be sentenced for his conviction on federal gun charges on 12 December. He was scheduled to be sentenced in the tax case four days later. Joe Biden is just weeks away from leaving office. [Share](mailto:?subject=Joe%20Biden%20issues%20pardon%20for%20son%20Hunter%20as%20Trump%20rails%20against%20‘miscarriage%20of%20justice’%20–%20US%20politics%20live&body=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/live/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-pardon-hunter-biden-donald-trump-us-politics-live-news-updates?CMP=share_btn_url&page=with%3Ablock-674d513f8f0816561c4a04c3#block-674d513f8f0816561c4a04c3)

A loving act of mercy by a father who has already known much sorrow? Or a hypocritical political manoeuvre reminiscent of his great foe? Maybe both can be true. Joe Biden’s announcement on Sunday that he had [pardoned his son Hunter](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/01/joe-biden-pardons-hunter), who is facing sentencing in two criminal cases, is likely to have been the product of a Shakespearean struggle between head and heart. On the one hand, Biden is one of the last great institutionalists in Washington. “From the day I took office, I said I would not interfere with the Justice Department’s decision-making,” he said in an unusually direct and personal [statement](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/02/joe-biden-hunter-pardon-statement) on Sunday. To undermine the separation of powers goes against every fibre of his political being. On the other hand, Biden is nothing without family. His speeches are peppered with references to his parents. As a senator, he [once took a train](https://www.npr.org/2024/08/19/g-s1-17885/ashley-biden-democratic-national-convention) from Washington to Wilmington, Delaware, so he could blow out the candles on a birthday cake for his eight-year-old daughter, Ashley, at the station, then cross the platform and take the next train back to work. [ Joe Biden issues ‘full and unconditional’ pardon to son Hunter ](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/dec/01/joe-biden-pardons-hunter) Biden was profoundly shaped by the death of his first wife, Neilia [Hunter Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/hunter-biden), and 13-month-old daughter Naomi in a car accident and, much later, the death of his son Beau from brain cancer. In that context, Hunter’s status as the first child of a sitting president to face criminal charges will have pained his father in what Ernest Hemingway called “the broken places”. Hunter was convicted this summer of lying about his drug use when he bought a gun. [Joe Biden](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/joebiden) categorically ruled out a pardon or commutation for his son, telling reporters: “I abide by the jury decision. I will do that and I will not pardon him.” Hunter also pleaded guilty in a separate tax evasion trial and was due to be sentenced in both cases later this month. Biden reportedly spent months agonising over what to do. The scales were almost certainly tilted by Donald Trump’s victory in last month’s presidential election. The prospect of leaving Hunter to the tender mercies of Trump’s sure-to-be politicised, retribution-driven justice department was too much to bear. Biden typically takes advice from close family and is likely to have reached the decision after talking it over during what was an intimate Thanksgiving weekend. “No reasonable person who looks at the facts of Hunter’s cases can reach any other conclusion than Hunter was singled out only because he is my son – and that is wrong,” the president said in a statement, calling it “a miscarriage of justice”. He added: “There has been an effort to break Hunter – who has been five and a half years sober, even in the face of unrelenting attacks and selective prosecution. In trying to break Hunter, they’ve tried to break me – and there’s no reason to believe it will stop here. Enough is enough.” Joe Biden’s defenders will certainly contend that, if Hunter had been an ordinary citizen, the gun case would not have come this far, and his father was simply righting that wrong. Republicans spent years hyping investigations into Hunter that failed to produce a shred of evidence linking his father to corruption. Eric Holder, a former attorney general, [wrote](https://twitter.com/EricHolder/status/1863389327310692525) on social media that no US attorney “would have charged this case given the underlying facts. After a five-year investigation the facts as discovered only made that clear. Had his name been Joe Smith the resolution would have been – fundamentally and more fairly – a declination. Pardon warranted.” It was also noted that this is hardly the first time pardons have smacked of nepotism. Bill Clinton as president pardoned his half-brother for old cocaine charges, and Trump pardoned the father of Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, for tax evasion and retaliating against a cooperating witness, though in both cases those men had already served their prison terms. Trump also used the dog days of his first presidency to pardon the rogues’ gallery of Steve Bannon, Michael Flynn, Paul Manafort and Roger Stone. And yet for many Americans there will be something jarring about the double standard of a president pardoning a member of his own family ahead of numerous other worthy cases. Republicans in the House of Representatives naturally pounced with more hyperbole about the “Biden crime family”. But there were also more thoughtful objections. Jared Polis, the Democratic governor of Colorado, wrote on social media: “While as a father I certainly understand President Joe Biden’s natural desire to help his son by pardoning him, I am disappointed that he put his family ahead of the country. This is a bad precedent that could be abused by later Presidents and will sadly tarnish his reputation.” Joe Walsh, a former Republican congressman turned Trump critic, said on the MSNBC network: “Joe Biden repeatedly said he wouldn’t do this so he repeatedly lied. This just furthers cynicism that people have about politics and that cynicism strengthens Trump because Trump can say, ‘I’m not a unique threat. Everybody does this. If I do something for my kid, my son-in-law, whatever, look, Joe Biden does the same thing.’ I get it but this was a selfish move by Biden, which politically only strengthens Trump. It’s just deflating.” The Trump context is impossible to ignore in this moral maze. Next month he will become the first convicted criminal sworn in as president, though three cases against him have all but perished. He is already moving to appoint loyalists to the FBI and justice department. Michelle Obama once advised, when they go low, we go high. On Sunday Joe Biden, 82 and heading for the exit with little to lose, decided to go low. Perhaps it was what any parent would have done.

 US President Joe Biden and his son Hunter Biden hug on stage at the conclusion of the first day of the Democratic National Convention at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024. BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images Hunter Biden no longer has to worry about going to prison. That's because his father President Joe Biden pardoned him with just weeks left in his presidency. The President's son was convicted in June on federal gun charges. Hunter Biden lied about his addiction to crack cocaine when he purchased a gun. And he pleaded guilty in September for failing to pay more than a million dollars in federal taxes. The younger Biden was due to be sentenced in both cases later this month. President Biden has granted his son a sweeping pardon. What will that mean for his legacy... and for the future of presidential pardons? For sponsor-free episodes of _Consider This,_ sign up for C_onsider This+_ via Apple Podcasts or at [plus.npr.org](http://plus.npr.org/). Email us at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). _This episode was produced by Brianna Scott and Kathryn Fink. It was edited by Courtney Dorning and Nadia Lancy. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun._

 President Joe Biden delivers his farewell address to the nation from the Oval Office of the White House on January 15, 2025. Mandel Ngan/Pool/Getty Images When he ran for office in 2020, President Joe Biden vowed to turn the page on then president Donald Trump. But it's Trump who is returning to the White House for a second term in office. We speak with NPR's Asma Khalid, who covered the Biden administration, on the legacy he leaves behind. For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at [plus.npr.org](https://plus.npr.org/). Email us at [[email protected]](mailto:[email protected]). _This episode was produced by Jordan Marie Smith and Brianna Scott. It was edited by Roberta Rampton, Adam Raney and Jeanette Woods. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun._