Joe Biden gets blamed by Harris allies for the Vice President’s resounding loss

Joe Biden's delayed decision to seek reelection led to Kamala Harris' defeat, leaving Democrats in a precarious position.

Joe Biden's name wasn't on the ballot, but history will likely remember Kamala Harris' resounding defeat as his loss too.

As Democrats pick up the pieces following President-elect Donald Trump's decisive victory, some of the Vice President's backers are expressing frustration with Mr. Biden's decision to seek reelection until this summer — despite longstanding voter concerns about his age and unease about post-pandemic inflation as well as the U.S.-Mexico border — all but sealed his party's loss of the White House.

“The biggest onus of this loss is on President Biden,” said Andrew Yang, who ran against Mr. Biden in 2020 for the Democratic nomination and endorsed Ms. Harris’ unsuccessful run. “If he had stepped down in January instead of July, we may be in a very different place.”

Mr. Biden will leave office after leading the U.S. out of the worst pandemic in a century, galvanizing international support for Ukraine in the aftermath of Russia’s invasion and passing a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that will impact communities for years to come.

But having run four years ago against Mr. Trump to “restore the soul of the country,” Mr. Biden will make way after just one term for his immediate predecessor, who overcame two impeachments, a felony conviction and an insurrection launched by his supporters. Mr. Trump has vowed to radically reshape the federal government and roll back many of Mr. Biden's priorities.

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“Maybe in 20 or 30 years, history will remember Mr. Biden for some of these achievements,” said Thom Reilly, co-director of the Center for an Independent and Sustainable Democracy at Arizona State University. “But in the shorter term, I don’t know he escapes the legacy of being the president who beat Donald Trump only to usher in another Donald Trump administration four years later.”