Policy
President Joe Biden, from left, his son Hunter Biden, his daughter-in-law Melissa Cohen Biden, right, and his grandson Beau Biden, leave a bookstore as they walk through downtown Nantucket , Massachusetts, Friday, November 29, 2024. (AP Photo/José Luis Magana)
NANTUCKET, Mass. (AP) — Joe Biden is wrapping up his final Thanksgiving holiday as president on Nantucket, a family tradition that this year appears to be part of a broader farewell to his time in the White House.
The Democrat’s four years in office will be marked by Republican Donald Trump, whose Cabinet appointments, tariff threats and lavish parties at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club, have captured public attention since the election of November. Biden withdrew from the presidential race in July and was replaced on the ticket by Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump.
During his five days on the Massachusetts island, with its quaint clapboard houses and seashell beaches, Biden, 82, still grappled with questions about his heritage. He planned to return to Washington later Saturday, then leave the next day for Angola for his only visit to Africa as president.
On Friday, as Biden and his family walked along the picturesque brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets that have made Nantucket a rich and sought-after summer vacation spot, passersby shouted “We love you, Joe.” Biden’s contingent included the president’s daughter, Ashley, and son, Hunter, as well as Hunter’s 4-year-old son, Beau.
Over the past year, Biden has called Trump’s lies about government hurricane relief “un-American” and repeatedly warned that the new president could undermine American democracy and foreign alliances.
But when asked by reporters on Thanksgiving what he was grateful for, Biden replied: “I am grateful for a peaceful transition of the presidency. »
Biden also said he was grateful for his family, the new ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and the potential for further progress in the Middle East. The president, who has largely avoided questions from reporters lately, weighed in on a number of issues related to Trump and his policies.
He suggested that Republicans’ “thin” margins of power in the next Congress will mean Trump will have to accept “real compromise” as he advances his agenda.
“I think there might be a little bit of internal awareness,” Biden said.
Biden also said he hoped Trump would “rethink” his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada, the United States’ major 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 start messing up those relationships.” I think we placed them well.
Days earlier, Trump pledged on his social media site, Truth Social, to impose 25 percent tariffs on both countries until they stop illegal immigration and block the flow of drugs across their border with the United States. The threat prompted Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to initiate a phone call with Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to travel to Florida on Friday to meet with him.
After that phone call, Trump claimed in a message that he was “effectively closing our southern border,” a statement Sheinbaum disputed although she said she was confident tariffs would be avoided. Mexico has already taken steps to address the issues raised by Trump – a point also raised by Biden.
Trump also threatened to impose additional 10% tariffs on China unless it stopped exporting materials used to make fentanyl.
Biden told reporters that Chinese President Xi Jinping understands the importance of avoiding any missteps in relations with the United States.
“The only thing I know for sure about Xi is that he doesn’t want to make a mistake,” Biden said. “And I’m not saying he’s our best friend, but he – he understands what’s at stake.”
On Thanksgiving Day, Biden went to a fire station to deliver pumpkin pies with his wife, Jill, and grandson Beau. The first lady told firefighters and police officers that the family had been going to Nantucket for Thanksgiving since 1975, an outing the family came to call “nana-tucket” in a nod to her central role in the establishment of tradition.
The firefighters gave the Bidens a pair of baseball caps.
The president put his on and asked his grandson, “What do you think?”
“That sounds good,” said the grandson, who hesitated when the president asked if he would like to become a firefighter.
On Friday, the Biden family had lunch at Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant and stopped at Nantucket Bookworks, an art gallery and several other stores. Their afternoon ended with the Christmas tree lighting ceremony and carolers while the crowd took photos and videos of a smiling Biden.
This year’s holidays may have particular emotional resonance as a respite from some family turmoil.
In December, Hunter Biden is expected to be sentenced on three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors say, he lied on a federal form that he was not illegally using drugs or addicted to drugs. drugs. He also faces sentencing in California in December on federal tax charges to which he pleaded guilty in September.
The president has previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his possible sentence.
