Sweet or bittersweet? Joe Biden casts vote early

Joe Biden waited patiently in line on Monday to cast his early ballot in a close race between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

US President Joe Biden steps out of the booth after casting his early-voting ballot in New Castle, Delaware. Picture: AFP

Joe Biden is no longer in line for another term as US president – but he waited patiently in line on Monday to cast his early ballot in a close race between his chosen successor Kamala Harris and former rival Donald Trump.

The 81-year-old, who stunned the world when he dropped out of the race in July and endorsed Vice- President Harris as the Democrat nominee, voted at a polling centre in New Castle, on the outskirts of his hometown of Wilmington, Delaware.

Asked afterwards if it had been a bittersweet moment to vote in an election he once hoped to win, Mr Biden told reporters: “This is sweet.”

Wearing sunglasses and a dark suit, America’s outgoing Commander-in-Chief waited in line for 30 minutes, passing the time by chatting with other voters, speaking on the phone, and helping to push a wheelchair-using voter.

When it was his turn, Mr Biden signed his name with a finger, was given his ballot paper and then ­directed to a black-curtained booth to cast his vote, with only his legs visible.

With just a week until election day on November 5, more than 41 million Americans – a huge chunk of an estimated total voting age population of 262 million – have cast early ballots.

Afterwards, Mr Biden lashed out at Mr Trump over the Republican former president’s New York rally where a series of speakers made racist comments.

“It’s embarrassing. Beneath a president,” Mr Biden said.

Mr Biden also slammed Trump-supporting tech baron Elon Musk’s $US1m giveaways to registered voters as “totally inappropriate”.

The Democrat incumbent withdrew from the race after a disastrous debate performance against Mr Trump, saying he wanted to “pass the torch” to Ms Harris.

But Mr Biden has become a marginal figure in Harris’s campaign as the 60-year-old seeks to convince voters that she offers a change from her unpopular boss.

Asked about his low-profile role on the stump, Mr Biden said on Monday: “I’ve been to all the battleground states but I also had to continue my job.”

The President added that he and Ms Harris “talk all the time” and her campaign was “asking me where they think I should be”.

Mr Trump fumed over the Democrat switch from the ageing Mr Biden to a much younger, ­female candidate, falsely claiming that the President was the victim of a “coup.”

AFP