NANTUCKET, Mass. – Joe Biden is wrapping up his final Thanksgiving holiday as president on Nantucket, a family tradition that this year seems to be part of a broader farewell to his time in the White House.
The Democrat's four years as president will be bookended by Republican Donald Trump, whose Cabinet nominations, tariff threats and glitzy evenings at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida club, have captured the public's attention since the November election. Biden dropped out of the presidential contest in July and was replaced on the ticket by Vice President Kamala Harris, who lost to Trump.
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During his five days on the Massachusetts island, with its picturesque wood shingle homes and sea-shelled beaches, the 82-year-old Biden was still dealing with questions of his legacy. He planned to return to Washington later Saturday, then leave for Angola the next day for his only visit to Africa as president.
On Friday, as Biden and his family walked along the quaint brick sidewalks and cobblestone streets that have made Nantucket a wealthy and desirable summer vacation spot, passersby shouted “We love you, Joe.” The Biden contingent included the president’s daughter, Ashley, and son, Hunter, as well as Hunter’s 4-year-old son, Beau.
Over the past year, Biden has called Trump's falsehoods about the government's hurricane relief “un-American” and repeatedly warned that the incoming president could undermine U.S. democracy and foreign alliances.
But when asked by reporters on Thanksgiving Day what he was thankful for, Biden said: “I’m thankful for a peaceful transition of the presidency.”
Biden also said he was thankful for his family, the new cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah in Lebanon and the potential for more progress in the Middle East. The president, who has largely avoided reporters' questions lately, engaged on a number of matters related to Trump and policy.
He suggested that “razor-thin” margins of power for Republicans in the next Congress will mean that Trump will have to accept “some real compromise” as he pushes his agenda.
“I think there may be a little bit of internal reckoning,” Biden said.
Biden also said he hoped Trump would “rethink” his tariff threats against Mexico and Canada, leading American trading partners.
“We’re surrounded by the Pacific Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, and two allies: Mexico and Canada,” Biden said. “And the last thing we need to do is begin to screw up those relationships. I think we’ve got them in a good place.”
Days earlier, Trump had pledged on on his social media site, Truth Social, to impose 25% tariffs on both countries until they stopped illegal immigration and blocked the flow of drugs across their border with the United States. The threat caused Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum to engage Trump in a phone call and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to fly to Florida on Friday to meet with him.
After that phone call, Trump claimed in a post to be “effectively closing our Southern Border,” a statement that Sheinbaum disputed even as she expressed confidence the tariffs would be averted. Mexico has already taken steps to address the issues raised by Trump — a point also raised by Biden.
Trudeau left Florida on Saturday without a commitment by Trump to avoid tariffs. Trump called the meeting “productive.”
Trump has also threatened an additional 10% tariff on China unless it stops exporting materials used to make the drug fentanyl.
Biden told reporters that Chinese President Xi Jinping understood the value of avoiding any missteps in relations with the United States.
“The one thing I’m confident about Xi is he doesn’t want to make a mistake,” Biden said. “And I’m not saying that he is our best buddy, but he -- he understands what’s at stake.”
On Thanksgiving Day, Biden went to a fire station to deliver pumpkin pies with his wife, Jill, and grandson Beau. The first lady told firefighters and police officers that the family has been going to Nantucket for Thanksgiving since 1975, an outing the family has come to call “nana-tucket” in a nod to her central role in establishing the tradition.
The firefighters gave the Bidens a pair of baseball caps.
The president put his on and asked his grandson, “What do you think?”
“It looks good,” said the grandson, who demurred when the president asked him if he would like to be a firefighter.
On Friday, the Biden family lunched at the Brotherhood of Thieves restaurant and stopped at Nantucket Bookworks, an art gallery and several other shops. Their afternoon ended with the ceremonial Christmas tree lighting and carolers as crowds took pictures and videos of a grinning Biden.
This year's holiday might carry particular emotional resonance as a respite from some family tumult.
In December, Hunter Biden is scheduled to be sentenced on three felonies for purchasing a gun in 2018 when, prosecutors said, he lied on a federal form by claiming he was not illegally using or addicted to drugs. He also faces sentencing in California in December on federal tax charges he pleaded guilty to in September.
The president has previously said he would not pardon his son or commute his eventual sentence.