Biden prepares to pass the torch: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, our team on the ground in Chicago previews the opening night of the Democratic National Convention. Plus, senior politics editor Mark Murray looks at the strengths and weaknesses the party brings into the week.

Programming note: Stay tuned for a special edition of the From the Politics Desk newsletter each night after the Democratic National Convention this week, bringing you all the latest news and analysis from our team in Chicago.

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Biden prepares to pass the torch: What to expect on the first night of the Democratic convention

Tonight’s convention speech will not be the one President Joe Biden originally planned to give. 

As NBC News’ Natasha Korecki and Peter Nicholas write, a month ago, Biden was poised to conclude the Democrats’ confab by accepting the nomination with bold pronouncements about how his second term would build on the successes of his first. Instead, he will open the party’s convention in Chicago to make the case that Vice President Kamala Harris is the one to carry the torch. 

It is a turnabout that Democrats are greeting with jubilation, melancholy, lingering hard feelings and, for some, outright anger. The complicated dynamic has left convention planners and party leaders delicately navigating a display of respect to an outgoing president while building on newfound exuberance within the party over Harris’ ascent. 

Democrats are expected to honor him in their remarks throughout the week, using what they see as an act of selflessness as an inspiration for the party to rally behind Harris and push to defeat former President Donald Trump. With his remarks tonight, Biden is positioned to be the one who bridges the divisions. 

A senior Biden adviser said the president is viewing this moment without regret, NBC News’ Mike Memoli reports. “He makes a decision and moves on,” the adviser said. “Is it hard for other people? Yes. But it’s not like being president is a part-time job. There’s a lot on his plate that he’s focused on.”

That includes making sure Harris is elected to replace him. While the vice president has embraced the positive energy around her candidacy to push a campaign message about the future, Biden still sees it as a critical mission to ensure voters understand what’s at risk if Trump returns to the White House. 

Biden will cast Trump as a threat to democracy and urge all Democrats — and Americans — to focus on what needs to be done to defeat him. He will say that now that he’s made the decision he needed to make, it’s up to others to help him ensure that Democrats are “continuing the progress we have made.”   

🎙️ The lineup: Sen. Chris Coons of Delaware, a close Biden ally, and first lady Jill Biden will speak tonight before the president, who will be introduced by his daughter Ashley. Jill Biden will use her speech to highlight her husband’s character and reiterate her support for Harris’ candidacy, NBC News’ Monica Alba and Megan Lebowitz report. 

Other notable speakers on night one of the Democratic convention include: former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton; Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia; Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear; Reps. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York; Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo; and UAW President Shawn Fain.

🔵 What else to expect: NBC News’ Sahil Kapur lays out five big things to watch during the week’s proceedings, including if Democrats will lean more into vibes or policy, whether Harris breaks at all with Biden, and how the vice president handles the Gaza protests occurring in Chicago. 

Follow along with tonight’s speeches on our live blog →

Democrats carry strengths and bruises heading into their convention

By Mark Murray

CHICAGO — The Democratic Party is displaying clear strengths and noticeable bruises as it descends here for its convention. 

The strengths: rising poll numbers, greater enthusiasm about its presidential ticket, and an institutionalism against which today’s Republican Party can’t compete.

NBC News’ Ed Demaria points out that Bill Clinton this week will be speaking at his 12th straight Democratic convention (dating back to 1980), while Biden will be addressing his 13th convention (dating back to 1972, though he skipped 1988’s due to surgery), according to NBC News’ Mike Memoli. And Barack Obama has been a convention mainstay since his 2004 keynote. 

By contrast, the Bushes and Cheneys have been shut out of GOP conventions in the Trump era. 

But there’s an even greater strength Democrats showed in the past four weeks: They forced the incumbent commander in chief to abandon his re-election bid, even though he initially didn’t want to leave the race. (“I’m not going anywhere,” Biden told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on July 8, after his dismal debate performance.) 

That’s the undeniable and breathtaking backdrop to this political convention. The party, ultimately, was stronger than its sitting president. 

But that action also created bruises for the party that will be evident when Biden leaves Chicago after his remarks. (Translation: Biden won’t be participating at the convention after tonight.)

Democrats might be better off politically — just look at the polls — but what has transpired over the last four weeks is a remarkable and historic event: Facing a likely loss, the party changed its presidential ticket just months out from Election Day.

More NBC News coverage from the Democratic convention

• Jonathan Allen explores how Harris built a formidable political network across the country and online, allowing her to energize the party once she became its standard-bearer. Read more →
• Sahil Kapur scoops Harris’ first big revenue-raising proposal: upping the corporate tax rate to 28%, from its current rate of 21% set by Trump’s 2017 tax law. Read more →
• Democrats laid out more than 90 pages of policy priorities in their official party platform. But it was written and voted on before Biden dropped out — even referring to the president’s “second term” more than a dozen times. Read more →
• Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said antisemitism did not play a role in Harris’ decision to pick someone other than him as a running mate, as Trump has charged. Read more →
• The Democratic National Committee projected anti-Trump campaign slogans onto Trump Tower in Chicago. Read more →

That’s all from the Politics Desk for now. If you have feedback — likes or dislikes — email us at politicsnewsletter@nbcuni.com

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