(AFP) – Joe Biden is no longer in line for another term as US president — but he waited patiently in line on Monday to cast his early ballot in a close race between his chosen successor Kamala Harris and former rival Donald Trump. The 81-year-old, who stunned the world when he dropped out of the race in July and endorsed vice president Harris as the Democratic nominee, voted at a polling center in New Castle, on the outskirts of his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.
Asked afterwards if it had been a bittersweet moment to vote in an election he once hoped to win, Biden told reporters: “This is sweet.” Wearing sunglasses and a dark suit, America’s outgoing commander-in-chief waited in line for some 30 minutes, passing the time by chatting with other voters, speaking on the phone, and helping to push a wheelchair-using voter. When it was his turn, Biden signed his name with a finger, was given his ballot paper, and then directed to a black-curtained booth to cast his vote, with only his legs visible.
With just a week until Election Day on November 5, more than 41 million Americans — a huge chunk of an estimated total voting age population of 262 million — have cast early ballots. Afterwards, Biden lashed out at Trump over the Republican former president’s New York rally where a series of speakers made racist comments. “It’s embarrassing. Beneath a president,” Biden told reporters.
Biden also slammed Trump-supporting tech baron Elon Musk’s $1 million giveaways to registered voters as “totally inappropriate.” The Democratic incumbent withdrew from the race after a disastrous debate performance against Trump, saying he wanted to “pass the torch” to Harris. But Biden has become a marginal figure in Harris’s campaign as the 60-year-old seeks to convince voters that she offers a change from her unpopular boss.
Asked about his low-profile role on the stump, Biden said Monday: “I’ve been to all the battleground states but I also had to continue my job.” Biden added that he and Harris “talk all the time” and her campaign was “asking me where they think I should be.” Trump fumed over the Democratic switch-up from the aging Biden to a much younger, female candidate, falsely claiming that Biden was the victim of a “coup.”
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