So what will Joe Biden do now?

President Joe Biden addressed the nation from the Oval Office on Wednesday night at the end of a momentous few weeks that saw him give up the Democratic presidential nomination — an act that could one day be the defining moment of his political career.

The speech was an attempt to withdraw from political life, but it also served as a reminder that the nation has already moved on just days after the president announced his unprecedented decision.

Democratic delegates quickly rallied behind Biden’s handpicked successor, Vice President Kamala Harris, and nearly 90 percent of Democratic voters polled said she made the right choice recently. CNN poll powered by SSRS. The media limelight has shifted to Harris, the new presumptive Democratic nominee, and what his presidency will look like. And Democrats have been able to refocus New stimulus Their job at hand is beating former President Donald Trump.

That suddenly left Biden in the role of elder statesman. In extraordinary circumstances, a few months before the 2024 elections, he unexpectedly fulfilled his 2020 promise.”the bridgeTo the next generation of leadership.

“I have decided that the best way forward is to pass the torch to a new generation,” Biden said in his speech. “This is the best way to unite our nation.”

Now that he has done so, the question arises: What is left for an outgoing president to do?

Biden himself insisted that his work is not done, and made it clear on Wednesday night that he wants to tie up loose ends on policy. For example, he promised to continue his efforts to protect democracy at home and abroad. And he’s committed to delivering one Cease fire in Gaza Before he left office. 

But Biden’s legacy — and beyond the country’s needs — is still a campaign. So what role can he play in both cases?

What can Biden do on the campaign trail — and what should he do?

Strategists and pollsters agree: Biden could be useful to Harris on the campaign trail.

Biden clearly thinks so. Monday he Said at a campaign event “I’m going on the road, and I’m not going anywhere,” he said via teleconference in Delaware. On Wednesday night he reiterated his support for Harris: “He’s tough; he is capable He is my incredible partner and a leader for our country.”

Chuck Rocha, a former senior adviser to Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign, said Biden has an opportunity to help Harris with union members and white working-class voters in Pennsylvania and Michigan — groups that helped bolster his 2020 victory.

Evan Roth Smith, Blueprint’s chief pollster, said Biden also needs to talk to voters who have been most loyal to him, even in the past month, and tell them it’s important that they don’t just turn out to vote. For Harris, but knock on the door for him.

Democratic pollster Fernand Amandi said Biden can chalk up his administration’s success to “the political wind behind the orange campaign’s sails,” emphasizing his role in getting things done.

But Harris has an unusual opportunity to get a second chance at first impressions and define himself beyond being Biden’s vice president. Roth Smith said voters don’t associate him as much on issues that rate the administration as poorly as on inflation and immigration.

“So he has this important opportunity to distance himself a little bit,” he said. “It’s important not to spoil it and not overly tie him to Biden.”

Amandi said Biden risks creating more questions about whether he should continue as president until the end of his term if he attends campaign events where he has proven more likely to commit verbal flubs. Although Amandi added that he believed Biden would not finish his term if the president and his doctors did not deem him fit, Republicans have recently argued that Biden is unfit for office and Should resign now.

“There was a lot of pressure on Biden to go there, especially following the debate performance and doing the kinds of events he’s less comfortable doing,” Roth Smith said. “He doesn’t need to do events like this anymore … we don’t need him all the way through the campaign.”

This is especially so given that, soon, Harris will have another major surrogate in his party in the form of his vice presidential candidate. Once he picks a running mate, “there will literally be three people who can help bring this thing home for the Democrats in November,” two of whom — Harris and his vice presidential pick — “could provide a fresh-faced contrast to Donald Trump.” ” said Rocha.

Basically, the move for Biden experts is to help Harris where he can, but not overexpose himself. Biden recognized on Wednesday that it was time for him to take a step back. “I know there’s a time and a place for years of experience in public life,” he said. “There is a time and a place for new voices, fresh voices. Yes, young voice. That time and place is now.”

What about Biden’s remaining time as president?

Strategists and pollsters told me that Biden should focus on being president for the rest of his time in office, and as he noted in his speech, that’s what he wants to do.

“An important role for the president is to be this statesman, to show that Democrats can govern,” Roth Smith said.

Being qualified, finding opportunities to remind voters of his administration’s accomplishments — from deflationary legislation to bipartisan infrastructure legislation — is one of the best ways to support Harris.

“The Biden-Harris administration has a fantastic story to tell,” Amandi said. “It was a story that was undermined by legitimate concerns about whether the president could continue for four more years.”

Kyle Condick, managing editor of Sabato’s Crystal Ball at the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics, said Biden’s “ability to really get anything done has been muted” as he faces a divided Congress and the election season is in full swing. But there are some things that the President can do unilaterally.

For one, the Americans are relying on his vast foreign policy experience at a vulnerable moment for the Middle East and Europe. In his speech, he said he would seek to “bring peace and security to the Middle East” and continue to assemble a coalition of countries to end the Russian occupation of Ukraine, strengthening NATO and US allies in the Pacific. Which may not be achievable in five months, but he can work towards visible progress.

Biden can also look for domestic policy wins on issues that have dogged his candidacy, including immigration and inflation, which appear to be improving in time for the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates later this year. He is a lesser known, but still incredibly popular principle such as The price of medicines has been reduced in discussions Medicare is for Americans. He raised the issue on Wednesday Proposed Supreme Court Reforms and his Cancer “Moonshot” Among his priorities.

And as the administration progresses, Biden needs to make sure he’s “sharing the stage,” Roth Smith said.

“If there’s going to be a great inflation report or a consumer confidence report, [Harris] Gotta get credit for that,” he added.

It also serves the dual purpose of cementing Biden’s legacy and boosting his approval ratings, which Kondik said is also helpful for Harris.

“I think President Biden will leave office in January with a significantly higher approval rating because one obstacle to judging him given his success has now been removed, the concern that he will be re-elected at an age where he will no longer have physical limitations. Don’t let him continue, Amandi said.

The stakes are still high for Democrats. Biden’s remaining time in office is likely to lay the groundwork for a smooth transition to another Democratic administration that can protect the policies he set. But as Biden himself says, before anyone — even Harris — can take over, he has to “job done“

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