Biden goes AWOL as Trump begins right-wing takeover

President Joe Biden’s absence from the public stage since the conclusion of the 2024 election has become a cause for alarm. The outgoing president’s lack of action is happening even as Donald Trump moves to take the country in a hard-right direction—before he is even sworn in as the next president.

Biden first took a step back after he decided to step down as the Democratic nominee and endorse Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s presidential candidate. But since Harris lost the race to Trump, Biden has not stepped up, creating the appearance of a leadership vacuum for both the party and the nation.

Following the presidential elections in 2008 and 2016, the outgoing presidents—George W. Bush and Barack Obama—held press conferences to discuss the race results and the nation’s path forward. Biden has not done so.