A reasonable person, realizing that Joe Biden is set to be the oldest US President to take office, might believe he doesn’t have the luxury of time to implement all of his goals and agenda items. This is not meant to be disparaging. I’m 46 and think of my mortality on a pretty consistent basis. If I was suddenly thrust onto the national spotlight at 78 years old, like Joe Biden is, my goals would be centered on what I can do now, not what I can do later. If I was at all concerned about my legacy as President at that age, a bird in the hand is indeed worth two in the bush.
Given this setup, I want to play the role of soothsayer. I predict that Joe Biden will resign the presidency 24 to 36 months into his term. Wait, if he is concerned about his legacy and the time he has left, why would he resign? Well, because he wants part of his legacy to be that he ushered in the term of the first woman president in US history. Why resign in 24 to 36 months? Because of the 22nd amendment.
No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice, and no person who has held the office of President, or acted as President, for more than two years of a term to which some other person was elected President shall be elected to the office of the President more than once. But this Article shall not apply to any person holding the office of President, when this Article was proposed by the Congress, and shall not prevent any person who may be holding the office of President, or acting as President, during the term within which this Article becomes operative from holding the office of President or acting as President during the remainder of such term.
AMENDMENT XXII, SECTION 1
This means that if a Vice-President is elevated to the position of President, they can run for office twice if they have served less than half of a term by the time the election process is complete. Otherwise, they can only run for one term. If Joe Biden were to resign earlier, he would be “condemning” Kamala Harris to only being able to run once — a sort of lame-duck presidential term.
This ensures that Kamala Harris has the power of incumbency before she even faces her first election as President. She then hypothetically wins the election (as nearly all incumbents do) and Joe Biden’s legacy is complete as the on who broke the glass ceiling for women in politics. I think this also adds credence to his insistence that his VP pick be female. It wasn’t just a political ploy, it was a small step to making his larger plan a success.
Disclaimer time — Obviously I don’t know any of this to be true. Clearly Joe isn’t calling me up and talking about his plans. Additionally, some might find it offensive that I suggested a man is going to smash the glass ceiling for women. My thought process here is what I think Joe Biden is *going to do*, not what I think is necessary for women or that it couldn’t have been done without him.