Biden faces doubts over his legacy as he prepares to hand over power to the man he called a threat to democracy
CNNWashington CNN — For years, President Joe Biden has used a single phrase to diminish his onetime rival Donald Trump while signaling his own adherence to American political tradition: “You can’t love your country only when you win.” As Biden conceded his vice president’s loss to Trump from the White House Rose Garden on Thursday, the line carried a different significance. “Setbacks are unavoidable, but giving up is unforgivable,” the president said in the Rose Garden during his first public remarks since Trump’s victory over Vice President Kamala Harris. “It is honest, it is fair, and it is transparent, and it can be trusted – win or lose.” What comes next for Biden’s policy legacy is uncertain. “He should have stepped aside sooner,” said one former Biden administration official, before adding: “I just don’t know if that would have mattered.” A senior Harris campaign official, who said they do not believe a competitive Democratic primary process would have put Harris at the top of the ticket this cycle, told CNN they blamed Biden’s own ego – and all of his top advisers who shot down any suggestion from Democrats that the party needed new leadership.