policy
NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) – Joe Biden is ending his final Thanksgiving holiday as president on Nantucket, a family tradition that appears to be a part of a broader farewell to his time within the White House this 12 months.
The Democrat's 4 years as president are being accomplished by Republican Donald Trump, whose Cabinet nominations, tariff threats and glitzy evenings at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club, have captured public attention because the November election. Biden dropped out of the presidential race in July and was replaced by Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump.
During his five days on the island of Massachusetts, with its picturesque clapboard houses and shell beaches, Biden, 82, still grappled with questions on his legacy. He planned to return to Washington later Saturday and leave for Angola the following day for his only visit to Africa as president.
As Biden and his family strolled Friday along the picturesque paved sidewalks and cobblestone streets which have made Nantucket an affluent and desirable summer vacation spot, passersby shouted “We love you, Joe.” The Biden contingent included the president's daughter, Ashley, and his son Hunter, and Hunter's four-year-old son Beau.
Last 12 months, Biden called Trump's falsehoods concerning the administration's hurricane relief “un-American” and repeatedly warned that the brand new president could undermine U.S. democracy and foreign alliances.
But when reporters asked on Thanksgiving Day what he was grateful for, Biden said: “I'm grateful for a peaceful transition of the presidency.”
Biden also said he was grateful for his family, the brand new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and the potential for further progress within the Middle East. The president, who has largely dodged reporters' questions of late, addressed plenty of topics related to Trump and his policies.
He suggested that “razor-thin” margins of power for Republicans in the following Congress would mean Trump would have to simply accept “a real compromise” as he advances his agenda.
“I think there might be a little bit of internal reckoning,” Biden said.
Biden also said he hoped Trump would “reconsider” his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada, America's top trading partners.
“We are surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean and two allies: Mexico and Canada,” Biden said. “And the last thing we need to do is destroy those relationships. I think we have them in a good place.”
Days earlier, Trump had vowed on his social media page Truth Social to impose 25% tariffs on each countries until they stop illegal immigration and block the flow of medicine across their border with the United States. The threat prompted Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to have a phone call with Trump and prompted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fly to Florida to fulfill with him on Friday.
After that phone call, Trump claimed in a post that he was “effectively closing our southern border,” an announcement Sheinbaum disputed, although she was confident the tariffs could be averted. Mexico has already taken steps to handle the problems raised by Trump – a degree also raised by Biden.
Trump has also threatened a further 10% tariff against China unless the country stops exporting materials used to make the drug fentanyl.
Biden told reporters that Chinese President Xi Jinping understood the importance of avoiding missteps in relations with the United States.
“The one thing I’m confident about with Xi is that he doesn’t want to make a mistake,” Biden said. “And I'm not saying he's our best buddy, but he – he gets the point.”
On Thanksgiving Day, Biden went to a fireplace station along with his wife Jill and grandson Beau to deliver pumpkin pie. The first lady told firefighters and law enforcement officials that the family has been traveling to Nantucket for Thanksgiving since 1975, a visit the family now calls “Nana-Tucket” in reference to her central role in establishing the tradition.
The firefighters gave the Bidens a pair of baseball caps.
The president put his on and asked his grandson, “What do you think?”
“It looks good,” said the grandson, who demurred when the president asked him if he desired to be a firefighter.
On Friday, the Biden family had lunch on the Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant and stopped at Nantucket Bookworks, an art gallery and a number of other other stores. Their afternoon ended with the celebratory Christmas tree lighting and carols as the group snapped photos and videos of a grinning Biden.
This 12 months's holiday could have a special emotional resonance because it offers a respite from some family turmoil.
In December, Hunter Biden is scheduled to be sentenced on three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors say, he lied on a federal form and said he had not used drugs illegally or was hooked on them. He also faces sentencing in California in December on federal tax charges to which he pleaded guilty in September.
The president had previously said he would neither pardon his son nor commute his possible sentence.
image credit : www.boston.com