It’s difficult to imagine a sitting president doing more to sabotage his political legacy than Joe Biden has over the last year. It’s been obvious for some time he wanted to establish his legacy as the only Democrat who could beat Trump; his actions over the past year will likely destroy any political capital he had left in the party, turning him into a footnote of history.
Biden’s growing list of gaffes has left the Democratic Party in turmoil. Naturally, this turmoil began with his decision to pursue a second term. While it is unlikely the outcome of the election would have resulted in anything but Trump’s victory, the talking point that, had he passed the torch early on and given another Democrat a chance to rise through a primary their party would have had a chance of winning, will linger on forever.
But it was so much more than that.
It was Biden’s disastrous performance in his debate with Donald Trump that exposed one of the biggest presidential scandals in history: the cover-up of Joe Biden’s cognitive decline. For three and a half years, Joe Biden's physical and mental health was a story that was pretty much only given the light of day in conservative media.
That debate sparked a series of events that left Democrats with pretty much no choice but to rally behind Kamala Harris—the most unpopular vice president in the history of polling. Since Kamala took over, it’s nearly impossible to imagine Joe Biden doing more to sabotage her candidacy without exposing himself as a double agent. As Kamala sought to distance herself from the Biden-Harris record, Joe did everything possible to link her directly to all of his major policy decisions.
Related: Here's How Pardoning Hunter Biden Was Really About Protecting Joe
Later on, the Biden-Harris hurricane response exposed the administration’s incompetence mere weeks before the election, and then Biden called Trump supporters “garbage,” forcing the Harris-Walz campaign to go into damage control mode.
While none of these factors could have altered the outcome, they undoubtedly provided ample opportunity for those on the left to hold him accountable for their party's shortcomings in the 2024 elections.
The situation continued even after the election.
After Trump’s re-election, Biden’s Oval Office transition meeting with him undermined the Democrats’ narrative of Trump as a threat to democracy. The handshake and photo op boosted Trump’s public image at a pivotal moment. And boy did Joe Biden look happy.
And then, on Sunday, the decision to pardon Hunter Biden after repeatedly insisting he wouldn’t wasn’t just legally controversial—it was politically catastrophic. By pardoning his son, Biden handed Trump a golden ticket to right the wrongs of the American justice system.
And he will.
Joe Biden single-handedly fractured the Democratic Party and handed Trump a series of political gifts on a silver platter. Joe Biden may see his legacy as the only Democrat who could beat Trump, but that’s not how his own party will view him.
Once Joe Biden retires, his party will be rushing to forget him.
And probably Kamala Harris, too.
