Biden to ‘pass the baton’ to Kamala Harris on first night of DNC – then jet off to California

CHICAGO — President Biden is poised to deliver the headline speech of the night at the Democratic National Convention Monday, but he won’t be staying in the Windy City for long.

After his nighttime speech, in which he is expected to “pass the baton” to Vice President Kamala Harris, 59, Biden, 81, will trek over 2,000 miles west to Santa Ynez, Calif., where he will stay until Sunday, according to the White House schedule.

The timing of his reported family vacation means that the highest-ranking elected Democrat in the country won’t be present for the remainder of his party’s convention this week.

In doing so, he will avoid any risk of upstaging Harris in her hometown of Chicago, though it’s not clear that he would’ve outshone her. Last week, audience members began leaving a joint Maryland event between the duo after Biden took the podium.

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The trip to California also comes against the backdrop of Biden being pressured out of the Democratic nomination for president amid a mutiny in his own party sparked by frantic concerns about his fumbling debate performance against former President Donald Trump in late June.

Almost a month ago, this was poised to be Biden’s big week. He formally dropped out of the race on July 21, a month ago from this Wednesday.

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Democrats have downplayed divisions within their party and are set to celebrate his legacy during day one of the convention.

“We started out with President Biden, who we all love, we all adore. We look forward to seeing him tonight. We are going to celebrate him — celebrate all of the accomplishments he has given us,” convention chair Minyon Moore previewed to reporters Monday.

Biden worked on his speech during his weekend stay at the Camp David presidential retreat and his message is expected to center around a need to win.

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Follow along with The Post’s live reporting on the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

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Top party officials have cast Biden as selfless for withdrawing from the race. Left largely unsaid, but heavily implied, is that many of them feel the move dramatically improved the party’s prospects of victory in the Nov. 5 election.

“Every step of the way during his presidency, President Biden put the people first,” said former Rep. Cedric Richmond (D-La.), an adviser to the Democratic National Committee. “It was never about politics. It was never about profit. It was never about party. It was always about the people.”

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“What he will show tonight is one of my favorite quotes about politics, ‘Politicians worry about the next election, statesmen worry about the next generation,'” Richmond added. “And it’s a statesman who will pass the baton to Vice President Kamala Harris to continue to put this country first.”

“He and his trusted vice president, Kamala Harris, got passed and he signed into law more consequential legislation than any president in my lifetime,” said Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a longtime Biden ally and Harris campaign national co-chair.

Democratic former Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama will also take the stage later this week. Clinton is scheduled to speak Wednesday and Obama on Tuesday.

Democrats are eager to put on a united front despite the late-stage change of the top of the ticket and storm of anti-Israel protesters in Chicago for the convention.

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Biden has publicly suggested that he dropped out due to pressure from Democrats, but has largely refrained from badmouthing them publicly, though he is rumored to be frustrated with former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), among others.

“A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races. And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic — you’d be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say [something],” he told “CBS News Sunday Morning” in an interview that aired last week.

“And I thought it’d be a real distraction,” he added.

Harris is slated to give her convention speech Thursday and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, is scheduled to do so Wednesday.