(NewsNation) — With 42 days until President Joe Biden cedes power to President-elect Donald Trump, some Democrats are exasperated at how he is spending his final days in the Oval Office.
In contrast, Biden’s team says he is focused on completing this term and what he can do for the American people.
He has events planned this week, both at the White House and around Washington, to highlight his approach to the economy and what the White House says he delivered while in office.
However, the president was notably absent from events in France over the weekend, where President-elect Donald Trump was shaking hands with leaders on the world stage, from French President Emmanuel Macron to Prince William and Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
First lady Jill Biden was in attendance, but President Biden stayed stateside, instead holding an event on Friday to honor American veterans on the eve of the 83rd anniversary of Pearl Harbor and readying for last night’s Kennedy Center Honors.
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Biden gave remarks Sunday on the latest developments in Syria and took a question from a reporter, but he is yet to hold a postelection press conference as Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush did.
Instead, the president has held events like a Rose Garden speech following Trump’s win and meetings with President-elect Trump and Israeli President Isaac Herzog at the White House.
Some members of the Democratic Party see this as a missed opportunity wherein the president could be calling out the president-elect’s picks for his Cabinet and comments on situations overseas.
Washington Governor Jay Inslee said, “We should be vocal pushing back against these nominees who are nothing but a disaster in the making.”
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The progressive wing of the Democratic Party has been even more outspoken. A spokesman for the progressive group Justice Democrats said, “This is one of the lamest of lame ducks we’ve seen with the Democratic administration, a massive missed opportunity.”
But a White House spokesperson told NewsNation, “President Biden is making every day of this term count. He is leading by example for the sake of American democracy, honoring his campaign promise, the respect of the will of the American voters, and provide an orderly transition.”
