Joe Biden’s last days in office as lame duck president: Bingeing on Netflix and taking long lunches

As Kamala Harris made her final push for the White House, there was one leading Democrat who was notably absent.

There was former president Barack Obama speaking at a rally in Wisconsin, his predecessor Bill Clinton on the trail in North Carolina.

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Even First Lady Jill Biden was out greeting voters in the all-important swing state, Pennsylvania.

There was no sign, however, of the US President himself.

For Joe Biden has been sidelined during the final days of the election campaign – resigned to bingeing Netflix shows, taking long lunches and looking “lost”.

It appears to be a poignant political ending for the veteran Democrat who started the year insisting he was fit enough to run again and beat Donald Trump.

However following a series of gaffes and a disastrous debate performance against the Republican nominee, he dropped out of the race on July 21 and endorsed his Vice- President as his replacement.

Within hours, the 81-year-old had become what he and his highly ambitious wife had always feared: a lame-duck president.

After four years at the centre of the political universe, he was suddenly out of the spotlight as the world moved its focus to a younger, more ebullient candidate.

A month later, the President joked that he needed a new job before appearing to become emotional during his speech at a White House reception.

This rapid relegation to the political periphery appears to have been actively – perhaps brutally – encouraged by Ms Harris’s team.

The Harris campaign has been rebuffing the President’s repeated offers to help her on the trail, Axios reported.

His absence over the last few days appears to have been triggered by yet another gaffe, when Mr Biden appeared to refer to Mr Trump’s supporters as “garbage”.

While the White House insisted that wasn’t what he meant, the Harris campaign’s message was clear behind closed doors: Stay away.

Insiders have described the President’s final few days as “lonely” and “lost”, saying he has been “watching more television” with Netflix recommendations from his seven grandchildren.

Privately, Mrs Biden has described the situation as “tough” for her husband.

Indeed, while she was out campaigning in Pennsylvania, Mr Biden was hidden away in his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware, enjoying a long lunch at his golf club with a friend.

It is notable that the First Lady barely mentions her husband while on the trail for Ms Harris.

And the Vice-President has been at pains to emphasise that her presidency would not be “a continuation of Joe Biden’s”.

Of course, Mr Biden still has his daily briefing books to keep him occupied, but aides say his focus has shifted to the future, such as deciding the location of his presidential library and restarting the Biden Foundation, his charitable endeavour.

He has mentioned Syracuse University in New York, the University of Delaware and Washington DC as three potential locations for a Biden Presidential Centre.

He has ties to all of them – he got his law degree at Syracuse, studied as an undergraduate at Delaware, and spent his professional life in D.C.

And, as interest in the President wanes at home, he has also shifted his focus to an international goodbye tour.

In Germany last month, he was awarded the “Order of Merit” – one of the country’s highest honours.

He is also planning to attend his final G20 meeting in Brazil this month as well as a trip to southern Africa next month.

He has also expressed interest in a trilateral summit with the leaders of Japan and South Korea.

In recent months, celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz has been spotted with the Bidens – although is not yet clear what project these photos are being used for.

Professor David Redlawsk, a political scientist at the University of Delaware, emphasised the unusual position Mr Biden is in having dropped out of the race so suddenly.

He said: “I doubt that Biden had really plotted out what would end up being his last 100 days or last few months.”

For 43 of the 75 days since he dropped out of the race, Mr Biden hasn’t had any scheduled public events.

Nor did he hold a single press conference during his Germany trip last month.

Such is the interest in Mr Biden’s apparent lack of activity, his White House press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, carries a special “lame duck” file to address any media questions about her out-of-action boss.

Meanwhile, many of Mr Biden’s White House staffers have already decamped to new jobs, some on Capitol Hill, some in the private sector.

His chief of staff, Jeffrey Zients, also appears to have more time on his hands, with reporters spotting him out in D.C. buying lunches for his team and slipping out of the White House gate to enjoy time outside – something that would have been unthinkable just six months ago.

The Bidens will have their personal belongings packed up in the coming weeks and staff will have to ensure all records are turned over to the National Archives.

Mr Biden also has to fill out post-job paperwork, which allows him to get healthcare for life and an allowance to set up an office.

He will also be eligible for two different federal pension programs due to his long tenure in the Senate and his time as president. Combined, these could pay him $US413,000 ($625,000) a year.

Speaking to ABC’s Good Morning America news show last month, Mrs Biden addressed the difficulty of the recent months.

“It will be tough to maybe step away from (the White House),” she said.

“We’re starting a new chapter of our lives, a new journey. We’ve been in politics 50 years. I think we’re ready for the new journey.”