US president Joe Biden gives farewell speech at DNC, but public moves on

Around the time US President Joe Biden was scheduled to make his keynote address, hundreds of Democratic National Convention (DNC) attendees were leaving the arena.

It was an odd sight for a historical speech that marked the end of the political career of the most powerful man in the world. On the other hand, perhaps it was fitting that one of the least popular incumbent presidents in US history would end with little more than a shrug from the public.

A DNC volunteer standing near the entrance to the arena said he had started seeing people leaving in droves right after Kamala Harris spoke, meaning they would miss the speeches of both Hillary Clinton and Biden. He shook his head and said he thought people wanted to move on. He also pointed out the irony of attendees holding "We love you Joe" signs as they rushed out to avoid his speech.

The signs had been distributed in the arena, with hundreds holding them as Biden gave his emotional farewell address. Among those holding the sign was former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, widely credited with being the main force behind the pressure campaign to get Biden to step down from the presidential race.

One couple that was rushing out of the arena prior to Biden's speech while carrying their "We love you Joe" signs was asked by The New Arab why they had left being seeing him. They said it was a long night and time to go to sleep.

Indeed, the speech didn't start until around an hour after it was scheduled, at about 11 pm, leading to speculation that it had been intentionally set to fall outside primetime TV watching to distance Biden from the new presidential ticket. Or at the very least, there wasn't a major effort to highlight the outgoing president.

"This is a long goodbye. We all know the convention really starts tomorrow," said a lobbyist watching the speech at a bar near the arena, speaking anonymously.

Biden gave his speech with force and passion, a far more solid performance than his presidential debate against his Republican opponent Donald Trump in late June, which ultimately led him to drop out of the race. At the time he stepped aside, his approval rating had reached around 35 percent, making it difficult to see a path to victory.

Just outside the arena, a lone demonstrator from Michigan was waving a Palestinian flag.

Aiden Place, who had travelled to Chicago to raise awareness of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza, described himself as cautiously optimistic with the new Democratic ticket, though still unsatisfied with what Harris has said so far.

"We need more concrete policy shifts. I'm hoping to see more than just a slight rhetorical change," he told TNA.

As for Biden's speech, he said, "I think the fact that he's so high-profile at the DNC, that he's been given the big end-of-the-night speech on the first day, is why it has triggered such large protests here."

He said that being from the swing state of Michigan, where his vote counts more than in most other states, makes him feel a civic duty to protest at the convention.

Though Place himself is a member of the Democratic Party, he felt compelled to protest Biden's speech because of what he describes as horrific leadership on the Palestinian issue.

"I think people attending the DNC want to be reminded of what the leadership is doing in Palestine, and therefore I felt it was worth standing out here with a Palestinian flag and reminding people," he said.