Far from the race he once envisioned, Joe Biden closes out contest in Scranton

SCRANTON, Pennsylvania — For Joe Biden, this is how it ends: surrounded by a sea of familiar faces in a modest union hall, minutes from his childhood home but miles from the real action.

The president this weekend made his closing pitch in a 2024 campaign that he began more than a year ago with grand ambitions, only to watch it slip away from him in the intervening months — gradually at first, and then, in one disastrous debate night, all at once.

Where Biden once envisioned a race that built toward his triumphant reelection, Kamala Harris has since replaced him at the center of the political world, in a sprint to Election Day that could usher in a new generation of Democratic leadership or a Republican ready to wipe out his legacy as quickly as possible.

And instead, Biden is spending the closing stretch of this neck-and-neck race and the last presidential campaign season of his 52-year political career hopscotching between campaign spots in this pivotal swing state and his Wilmington, Delaware, home, stumping for his vice president in some of the places he’s guaranteed to be beloved and — crucially — can do no harm.

“I’m asking for your support for Kamala and Tim Walz,” Biden told an admiring crowd of roughly 150 supporters who had paused their get-out-the-vote efforts, cramming into the headquarters of the local carpenters union for a view of the president who, as several there put it, had always had their backs. “I’m not just asking for me. I’m going to be gone. I’m asking you to do something for yourself and your families.”

As Biden commuted back to Delaware shortly afterward, making a customary visit to church before calling it an evening just after 6 p.m., his vice president and hopeful successor was jetting to New York for a surprise appearance on “Saturday Night Live.”

The three Pennsylvania events were expected to be Biden’s closing moments on the campaign trail before returning to the White House on the day before the election. It was a marked contrast to the mega rally Barack Obama held in Philadelphia to close the 2016 race to succeed him, although it wasn’t as secluded as George W. Bush spending the final weekend of the 2008 race at Camp David. Biden on Sunday went to lunch with Ted Kaufman, his former chief of staff and political confidant, at his Wilmington country club.

If the moment represented a final letdown in a campaign season of disappointments for Biden, he betrayed no bitterness or regret. Biden has thrown his unwavering support behind Harris since he named her his successor after stepping aside three months ago, even as he remained personally convinced he could have beaten Donald Trump a second time — and as Harris has increasingly kept her distance from a president who has stumbled into embarrassing gaffes and whose approval ratings sit underwater. Just days earlier, he added a new headache to Harris’ campaign when he seemingly called Trump’s supporters “garbage,” although he quickly said he didn’t mean to do so.

Biden, in his final speeches before Election Day, lavished praise on Harris, making sure to repeatedly credit “Kamala and I” for the work done during his term to revive the economy, expand health care access and attract new investments in infrastructure and computer chips. He sought to reassure skeptical union workers that Harris would be just as reliably pro-labor as he’d been, asking them at the very least to put their faith in his decision to endorse her.

And though diminished in his ability to articulate a clear and consistent message, Biden demonstrated across two days in Pennsylvania — in union halls in Philadelphia and Scranton — that he had not lost his central conviction: that the presidential race is no less than a fight for the soul of the country.

“Three days to Election Day: The stakes couldn’t be higher. The choice couldn’t be clearer,” Biden said. “This other guy doesn’t care about us.”

Biden’s remarks were unlikely to make a meaningful dent in the overall trajectory of a race that has long since left his orbit, serving more to fire up reliably blue voters in a state expected to hinge more on a narrow slice of Independents and Republicans alienated by Donald Trump.

As “Union Joe” huddled with labor leaders and hometown pols, Harris was in the midst of a feverish sprint through the rest of the swing states marked by massive rallies and A-list guest appearances.

She has focused studiously on the future — adopting a “turn the page” mantra that not-so-subtly suggests moving on not just from Trump, but the Biden era as well.

“Biden is in the backdrop — this race needs to be about her and Trump,” said Dan Sena, a consultant who once led the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. “She’s not running to be Biden’s running mate. She’s running to be president against Trump.”

That’s relegated Biden to a background role that he has accepted, if not exactly relished. The president has coordinated closely with Harris’ campaign since dropping out, orienting many of his official events toward issues that may bolster her case while giving her a wide berth on the trail.

Asked about Biden’s role, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates pointed to efforts to emphasize that Republicans’ agenda would “economically devastate hard-working middle class families” by rolling back the president’s key domestic accomplishments.

Privately, Biden has itched to do more on Harris’ behalf, driven by the belief he has more value to add and the recognition that the fate of his own legacy is tied directly to her election, according to close allies.

But he is weighted down by lingering voter resentment over the cost of living, entrenched skepticism of his administration’s record and the concern that, at 81, he no longer represents the party he leads.

Biden last week also did himself no favors, turning what began as a routine get-out-the-vote call into a high-volume distraction with his “garbage” remark.

The ensuing controversy and debate over his intention — Biden maintained that he was referring only to comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who had insulted Puerto Rico as an “island of garbage” — only deepened the conviction among some Democrats that the president should be kept clear of the campaign.

“Joe Biden, God bless him, but he’s not at the top of the ticket,” said one Democrat close to the Harris campaign granted anonymity to discuss private sentiments.

The episode prompted speculation over whether Biden might cancel his weekend travel to avoid the risk of further damaging gaffes. And while he ultimately navigated the events without a major misstep, even while departing from his prepared remarks at various points, the risks were apparent.

Biden, at the outset of his speech in Philadelphia on Friday, appeared to act as if he couldn’t recall the name of former Rep. Bob Brady (D-Pa.) — the longtime Philly party boss who Biden had embraced on the tarmac just minutes before.

“The guy, if you’re in trouble, you’re in a foxhole — man, you want him with you,” he said, pointing at Brady and smiling. “That guy right there, what’s his name?”

It was unclear if he was serious. But it prompted laughs from the crowd, and one person yelled “Bobby!”

“Bobby, good to see you pal. You’re great,” Biden responded. “I’m serious, he’s always, always there.”

A White House official later said that Biden was joking about not knowing Brady’s name.

In Scranton the next day, Biden veered off script after warning that Trump and Republicans would try to cut taxes for the wealthy, telling the crowd that “these are the kinds of guys you like to smack in the ass.”

It was the type of moment that’s made Democrats cringe and fueled questions in Washington about his capability of serving another term. Biden, during his aborted reelection bid, struggled to energize a restless public and find a coherent message that could break through, despite a litany of legislative accomplishments to run on. Since ending his bid, he has made only minor alterations to his stump speech — preferring to rely on the same set of anecdotes, statistics and arguments for his presidency’s success that few voters appear eager to hear.

But at least for a day, in front of a hometown crowd, the remark drew raucous laughter across the union hall. That kind of reaction, Biden’s allies were quick to note, shows the president simply knows his audience — and retains much of the blue-collar charm that won him the presidency in the first place.

It’s a sign, they argue, that Biden still has more to give to a party preparing to leave him behind.

“I think he adds to the campaign,” said Mike Mikus, a Democratic strategist in the state. “Joe Biden speaks to a lot of Democrats, especially here in Pennsylvania, who’ve seen the work that he’s done.”

Indeed, the president’s weekend was filled with people, he made sure to emphasize, who had supported him his whole career. And there were signs that Biden still retains formidable retail talents. He brought the widow of a prominent labor leader to tears by surprising her with the Presidential Citizens Medal. Later, after walking into another labor hall with half a chocolate doughnut in his mouth, he interrupted the photo op to lead the room in singing “Happy Birthday” to a union volunteer.

In a state that could come down to razor-thin margins, that personal touch can make a difference, Biden’s close allies say.

But even they acknowledge that the party is changing, the electorate is looking ahead — and Biden’s place is no longer at its core.

“Most people that support him would’ve loved to see him go out on top, not have to step aside,” said Mikus. “But in the end — and this will apply to most voters — once he leaves office, they will look back at his presidency as one of accomplishment, one of the most successful presidents of our lifetime. Sometimes it just takes a while.”

Lauren Egan and Elena Schneider contributed to this report.