OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Joe Biden slowly but steadily took the stage in Omaha on Friday. 800 people stood cheering in the Hilton ballroom downtown.
“Did you see the results on Tuesday?” he asked, drawing another cheer as he listed Democratic victories, from governorships in New Jersey and Virginia to mayoralty in New York to a redistricting vote in California.
It was a jovial return to the political stage for the former president, whose bid to stay in the White House was rejected just over a year ago. Biden called for a political comeback, not for himself, but in front of a battle-hungry audience.
“You know what it feels like to be outnumbered,” he told Democrats in Nebraska, where Republicans have dominated the state in every presidential election since 1968. “But every election, put up signs and make your voice heard. The country desperately needs you.”
It was the kind of pep talk that sells in a place where Democrats are losing statewide but have run victorious 2nd District races in the Omaha area, elected a Democratic mayor for the first time since 2009 and are energized about capturing the 2nd District seat in 2026.
Biden gave a lot of encouragement but repeatedly returned to his view of the highlights of his single term in office, namely the containment of COVID-19 and the beginning of the economic recovery from the epidemic.
He did not address the difficulties he faced last year or the year of debate Democrats have had over how they lost the presidency to Republican Donald Trump.
In the summer of 2024, Biden waited more than three weeks after his disastrous debate performance with Trump in June, which caused panic among Democrats, before announcing in July that he would not seek another term and then endorsing then-Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.
Harris wrote in a book published in September that she and others around Biden should have acted more aggressively to encourage him to resign earlier.
The fact that Biden was the closest to acknowledging the tough decision was a joke.
“I have the dubious distinction of being the youngest man ever elected to the U.S. Senate and I’m the oldest damn president,” he playfully lamented.
Although Biden’s delivery was tranquil but upbeat, he sometimes slurred his words and was sometimes so serene that he couldn’t be heard from the amplified podium. Still, he would hit back with fierce attacks on the Trump administration and calls for action.
“We have to fix our mistakes and we started doing that on Tuesday,” he shouted.
Tuesday’s victories, a boon for Democrats across the country, were a timely boost for Biden.
But he also benefited from an atmosphere of respect.
He remained seated at the start of the broadcast, but beamed when the audience stood after the Kentucky governor. Andy Beshear, also a guest at the fundraiser, praised him “for his lifelong commitment to our country.”
“He was a president who governed not for the red states, not for the blue states, but for the entire United States,” Beshear said.
The audience cheered during Biden’s 30-minute speech. He returned to tried and tested campaign themes and promoted the middle class, equality and the responsibility of the nation as a role model for other nations.
He called them principles “from which we have never deviated.” Struggling to punctuate in a raised voice, he said, “We won’t avoid them now.”
It was Biden’s second public appearance in the past week and second since completing radiation therapy in October for the aggressive form of prostate cancer that he was diagnosed with after leaving office. He said nothing about his health, and when he mentioned cancer, it wasn’t about his own. It was about his tardy son Beau, who died in 2015.
It was the first purely political appearance for Biden since Labor Day 2024, when he appeared alongside Harris at a work event in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, a full two months before the November 5, 2024 election.
If his decision about the 2024 race was in question in the audience Friday, that seemed to be a distant memory as he concluded his speech.
“Thanks, Joe! Thanks, Joe!” They chatted as he left the stage.
