President Joe Biden never got to enjoy his balloon release, the red, white and blue apotheosis of American political conventions. This moment of grace for candidates, supported by their base and their party, before the final hundred days of the presidential campaign, was denied to him in 2020. That was due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced the cancellation of the celebration. Four years earlier, under pressure from Barack Obama, he had given way to Hillary Clinton.

And Biden won't get another chance in 2024, forced to withdraw in July in favor of Vice President Kamala Harris in the wake of his calamitous debate with Donald Trump on June 27. So, for the president of the United States, it was a bitter triumph when the crowd rapturously applauded the man heading into his twilight years on the opening day of the Democratic National Convention on Monday, August 19, with a late speech at 10:25 pm local time.

Earlier, delegates had warmed up the room, displaying logos that hadn't had time to be stamped with Harris' seal of approval. Some of the remarks smacked of the world before, with attacks on the handling of the Covid-19 pandemic under the Trump administration and how Biden, according to the Democratic narrative, turned the country around – the unemployment-stricken US had two vaccines since November 2020 and the economy was rebounding.

Speakers paid tribute to the president, the best way to launch Harris' campaign. There was Shawn Fain, the combative president of the United Auto Workers union, who unveiled a handsome red T-shirt ("Trump is a scab. Vote Harris") and paid tribute to Biden, born into a modest Pennsylvania family, who was the first US president to visit a picket line in Detroit, Michigan, in the fall of 2023. The left was happy under Biden's tenure, and it fell to its figurehead, New York State Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to also thank the outgoing president. A left which, through the weakness of its mobilization, had partially cost Clinton her victory in 2016.

At the 2024 convention, eight years later, all seemed forgiven. Clinton was treated to long minutes of applause, which perhaps also marked remorse for not having supported her enough in 2016. "There's a lot of energy in this room. Something is happening in America – you can feel it. First though, let's salute President Biden," said the former candidate in her speech, adding that the president had "brought dignity, decency and confidence back" to the White House. "Thank you Joe Biden for your lifetime of service."

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