Democrats Shove Biden Out of DNC Primetime for Last Gasp of Presidency

President Joe Biden took the Democratic National Convention stage well past his scheduled primetime slot to cap off a night meant to honor his legacy.

The DNC ran considerably behind schedule, leading the president to be booted from his primetime speaking slot to appear close to midnight on the east coast. The first night of the convention was full of speakers who dedicated their speeches to Biden’s four years in office, his decision to pick Vice President Kamala Harris as his running mate and his choice to end his 2024 reelection bid. An emotional Biden himself made a nod to the theme throughout his speech, praising Harris as he was repeatedly interrupted by “thank you, Joe” chants.

“It’s been the honor of my lifetime to serve as your president. I love the job, but I love my country more. All this talk about how I’m angry at all the people who said I should step down — it’s not true. I love my country more, and we need to preserve our democracy in 2024. We need you to vote. We need you to keep the Senate and the House of Representatives. And above all, we need you to beat Donald Trump,” Biden said before wrapping his speech up after midnight. It lasted nearly an hour.

As the speakers leading up to Biden on the schedule began dragging on and on, speculation swirled about how and why the president had been shoved aside to speak when many Americans would already be asleep.

“This is awful. He literally set up a campaign and handed it over to them — do they have to cut him out of prime time?” one longtime Biden aide texted Axios reporter Alex Thompson. (Read more from “Democrats Shove Biden Out of DNC Primetime for Last Gasp of Presidency” HERE)

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