As Joe Biden disembarked Air Force One in the early hours of Tuesday morning in California last week, he was visibly shaking.
It was approaching 5.30am East Coast time and the president had been awake almost 24 hours.
Walking slowly down the plane’s stairs, he struggled to step up into the SUV waiting to take him to the 8,000-acre Santa Barbara ranch where he and his family have just enjoyed a week-long vacation. His Secret Service agents surrounded him, shielding him from the watching cameras, as one gave him a helpful boost into the car.
On the tarmac, First Lady Jill Biden watched, visibly concerned. For her husband — who dropped out of the election race almost a month ago to the date — had just ended his exhausting journey from Democratic nominee to lame-duck president.
Last Monday, Biden had flown in to Chicago to address the first night of the Democratic National Convention.
Scheduled to speak at around 10.30pm (ET), the evening was meant to be his swan song, a farewell to the party faithful and a passing of the torch to his Vice President and the new Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris.
