--- title: DNC Monday: What Biden Plans to Say description: Democrats will use the first night of the Democratic National Convention to celebrate Joe Biden, who will speak and then be shown the door canonical: https://time.com/7011893/dnc-convention-biden-harris-clinton/ author: Brian Bennett article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-08-19T10:00:00.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:48:46.455Z article:section: Politics og:title: DNC's First Night to Begin Biden's Long Goodbye og:description: Democrats will use the first night of the Democratic National Convention to celebrate Joe Biden, who will speak and then be shown the door og:url: https://time.com/7011893/dnc-convention-biden-harris-clinton/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd972f2381991805a/698a59ffb21a9c037c50a5c9/GettyImages-2166226462.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: Biden Returns To Campaign Trail, Navigating New Harris Dynamic og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: DNC's First Night to Begin Biden's Long Goodbye twitter:description: Democrats will use the first night of the Democratic National Convention to celebrate Joe Biden, who will speak and then be shown the door twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd972f2381991805a/698a59ffb21a9c037c50a5c9/GettyImages-2166226462.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # DNC's First Night to Begin Joe Biden's Long Goodbye > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Kamala Harris Makes Appearance on First Night of DNC, Thanks Biden for "Historic Legacy" [Watch (HLS stream): Kamala Harris Makes Appearance on First Night of DNC, Thanks Biden for "Historic Legacy"](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ps6AdbcG.m3u8) (2:20)  _Published 2024-08-20. Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris appeared to address the crowd on the first night of the Democratic National Convention on Monday._  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Aug 19, 2024 10:00 AM UTC  President Joe Biden, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris make a joint appearance in Upper Marlboro, MD, on Aug. 15, 2024 President Joe Biden, left, and Vice President Kamala Harris make a joint appearance in Upper Marlboro, MD, on Aug. 15, 2024 Aaron Schwartz—Bloomberg via Getty Images  by [Brian Bennett](https://time.com/author/brian-bennett/)  ## Brian Bennett Bennett is the senior White House correspondent at TIME. Aug 19, 2024 10:00 AM UTC Joe Biden will take the stage in Chicago on Monday to be heaped with praise and shown the door. The first day of the Democratic National Convention is designed to highlight the sitting President’s accomplishments in office: improving an economy strained by the pandemic, corralling Republicans to sign off on $550 billion in new infrastructure investments, negotiating lower drug prices for seniors, freeing Americans and democracy activists imprisoned abroad. Biden himself will make the case in primetime for why Vice President Kamala Harris is the best person to build on that work after he dropped his bid for a second term, says a White House aide. Biden will take jabs at Donald Trump, invoking the sputtering economy and the strained international alliances that Biden inherited from his predecessor and warning that Trump has said he will be a dictator on “day one.” Biden will also tout improved public safety, pointing to the higher murder rate under Trump and arguing that Biden-era investments in policing under the American Rescue Plan and gun reform have contributed to a national drop in homicides. But don’t expect a farewell address—Biden plans to save that for January, say people close to him. Instead, he wants to use his time on stage Monday evening to kick off the week’s events with a call to action. “The main reason he is there is to get everybody to understand how important this race is, how important the election is, and how important it is that Kamala Harris be the next President of the United States.” says Ted Kaufman, the former Senator from Delaware and a close friend of Biden’s. Biden doesn’t plan to stick around for the rest of the convention. After his remarks, he is expected to leave Chicago and go on vacation for two weeks. Democrats are preparing to fete Biden on Monday for his decision last month to step aside from seeking four more years in power, a move that came after weeks of pressure from party insiders. “Here we’re seeing that baton passed. We’re seeing someone selflessly giving up the most powerful office in the world for the betterment of a party and for the betterment of America,” says Doug Jones, a former Democratic senator from Alabama and a close ally of Biden’s. The party is also expected to acknowledge Biden’s more than 50 years of public service. “It is a celebration of someone the Democratic Party can look to with great great pride, where the country can look too, or should look to, regardless of political persuasion, with some pride,” says Jones. Biden’s departure from the campaign ended weeks of Democratic party infighting following his disastrous debate performance in late June. That setback forced Biden, 81, to make good on his campaign promise to be a “bridge” candidate to a new generation of Democratic leaders. That passing-off-the-torch theme is reflected in the convention schedule. The ages of the week’s speakers is set to roughly shift from an older generation to a younger group of leaders. Hillary Clinton, 76 and the party’s 2016 nominee for president, will speak Monday before Biden. That will be followed on Tuesday by former President Barack Obama, who is 63\. Then Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Harris’s 60-year-old pick for a running mate, speaks on Wednesday. Harris, 59, will accept the party’s nomination during prime time on Thursday night. Even if Monday’s remarks aren’t a farewell speech, there were moments this month when it felt like Biden had begun his farewell tour. When Harris and Biden spoke Thursday in Largo, Md., about steps they’d taken through the Inflation Reduction Act to reduce drug prices, the crowd chanted, “Thank you Joe!” “There’s a lot of love in this room for our President,” Harris told the crowd as she handed the microphone over to him. “I served in the Senate for 270 years,” joked Biden, who was sworn in at the age of 30 and represented Delaware for 36 years. “The longest time–I was too damn young. Now, I’m too damn old,” Biden said. Pointing to Harris, he added: “She’s going to make a hell of a President.” ## Transcript I chase of t. Good evening, everyone. Good evening. Good evening. It is so good to be with everyone this evening in this hall and everyone at home. This is going to be a great week. And I want to kick us off by celebrating our incredible President Joe Biden, who will be speaking later tonight, Joe, thank you for your historic leadership for your lifetime of service to our nation. And for all, you will continue to do. We are forever grateful to you. Thank you, Joe. And looking out looking out at everyone tonight, I see the beauty of our great nation. People from every corner of our country and every walk of life are here united by our shared vision for the future of our country. And this November, we will come together and declare with one voice as one people, we are moving forward. With optimism, hope and faith, so guided by our love of country, knowing we all have so much more in common than what separates us. Let us fight for the ideals we hold dear, and let us always remember when we fight. We win. God bless you, God, bless the United States of America. 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