Dems give a thunderous ovation to the president they dethroned

For nearly an hour Monday night, President Joe Biden basked in the applause of Democratic convention-goers — even if the adulation was as much about his decision to step aside as his own career or record.

And when his speech finally concluded well past midnight in the Eastern Time Zone, the 81-year-old president embraced both Kamala Harris and the role he’d long resisted: passing the baton to his vice president to finish the campaign to defeat Donald Trump again.

“I love the job,” Biden told the packed arena. “But I love my country more.”

Relegated to the Democratic convention’s opening night, Biden used one of his final opportunities to address a major national audience to highlight his administration’s record, ticking off a laundry list of achievements. He hugged Harris at the end of his speech, cementing his blessing on her historic bid for the White House and completing a stunning switch atop the Democratic ticket that nearly tore apart his party — and then upended a presidential campaign.