WASHINGTON– President Joe Biden has been notably silent since the Democrats’ heartbreaking election defeat.

After warning voters for years that a victory for Donald Trump would be catastrophic for American democracy, Biden has remained largely silent on his concerns about what lies ahead for America and he has yet to think deeply about why Democrats were decisively defeated in the election.

His only public discussion of the election result came in a roughly six-minute speech in the Rose Garden two days after the election, in which he urged people to “see each other not as adversaries but as fellow Americans” and “bringing people down.” the temperature. » Since then, the public has paid almost no attention – including during Biden’s six-day visit to South America concluded Tuesday evening. His only public comments during the trip came in brief remarks before meetings with government officials.

At a delicate moment in the United States – and for the world – Biden’s silence could leave a void. But his public reluctance also highlighted a new reality: America and the rest of the world are already moving forward.

“His race is over. His day is over,” said David Axelrod, who served as a senior adviser in the Obama-Biden White House. “It’s up to a new generation of leaders to chart the way forward, and I’m confident they will.”

Edward Frantz, a historian at the University of Indianapolis, said Biden’s relative silence in the wake of the Republican victory is, in some ways, understandable. Still, he argued, there is good reason for Biden to be more active in trying to shape the narrative during his final months in office.

“The last time a president left office in such an irrelevant or popularly rejected way was Jimmy Carter,” Frantz said, referring to the last one-term Democrat in the White House. “History has provided a great rehabilitation for Carter, thanks in part to all he did during his post-presidency. At 82, I’m not sure Biden has the luxury of time. The longer he waits, the more he finds nothing to say, and he risks giving up on shaping his legacy, at least as he sees it in the short term.”

Biden allies say the president — like Democrats writ large — is privately processing the election defeat, pointing out that it’s been barely two weeks since Trump’s victory. Biden has not been introspective about his role in defeat, and he still has a lot to unpack, they said.

Biden, in his post-election speech, said: “Campaigns are contests of competing visions. The country chooses one or the other. We accept the choice made by the country. I have said it several times, you cannot love your country only when you win.”

Biden aides say president’s insistence on respect for electoral traditions — ensure an orderly transition and invite Trump to the White House — is particularly important because Trump flouted them four years ago, when he actively tried to overturn the results of the election he lost and helped incite a mob to riots at the US Capitol.

But that doesn’t mean Biden isn’t privately worried about the results, even if he doesn’t say much publicly.

White House spokesman Andrew Bates said Biden believes it is “critical to respect the will of the voters by ensuring an orderly transition and peaceful transfer of power.” President Biden has been honest with the American people about what is at stake in democracy, and his views remain unchanged – all the more reason to stand up for his principles and lead by example.

During his six-day visit to Peru and Brazil to meet with world leaders, Biden declined to hold a news conference — which is usually a centerpiece for U.S. presidents on such trips. Biden was already much less likely to hold press conferences than his contemporariesbut his team often highlights the impromptu moments where he answers questions from journalists who travel everywhere with him. In this case, he hasn’t thrown an impromptu Q yet.&A on elections or other issues.

And notably this week, Biden left it to allies Emmanuel Macron of France and Justin Trudeau of Canada to provide public explanations for his critical decision to ease restrictions on Ukraine’s use of longer-term U.S. weapons. carried into its war with Russia.

Biden, for whom Ukraine has been a focal point of his presidencyhad long worried about an escalation if the United States eased restrictions, and was aware of how Moscow would react if it appeared to chest-thump President Vladimir Putin. But Ukraine is also a touchy subject because of Trump, who has said he would end the war immediately and has long expressed admiration for Putin.

The GOP victory — Trump won both the popular vote and the Electoral College count, and Republicans took control of Congress — comes as the president and Vice President Kamala Harris both rang bells. alarm about what a Trump presidency could mean. Harris called Trump a fascist. Biden explained to Americans the very foundations of the nation was at stake, and he said world leaders were also worried.

“Every international meeting I go to,” Biden said after a trip to Germany in September, “they take me aside — one leader after another, quietly — and say, ‘Joe, he can’t earn.’ My democracy is at stake.’”

With his voice rising, Biden then asked if “America is going, who runs the world?” WHO? Name me a country.

Perhaps the most important moment of his stay in South America was a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru. His public comments at the start of this meeting were clearly more focused on the past than those of Xithe leader of the United States’ most powerful geopolitical competitor.

“I’m very proud of the progress we’ve both made together,” Biden said, fondly remembering a visit near the Tibetan Plateau with Xi years ago. He added: “We haven’t always agreed, but our conversations have always been frank and frank. »

Xi, on the other hand, ignored Biden in his remarks and sought to send a clear message to Trump.

“China is willing to work with the new US administration to maintain communication, expand cooperation and manage differences so as to move towards a smooth transition of China-US relations for the benefit of the two peoples,” Xi said. while urging U.S. leadership to make a “wise choice” in managing the relationship.

The president also seemed in no mood to engage with journalists throughout his stay in South America. Since Election Day, he has only briefly responded to media questions twice.

In one such exchange, he responded to an Israeli journalist’s question about whether he thought he could reach a ceasefire deal in Gaza before leaving office with a sarcastic response: “Think- do you know that you can avoid being hit on the head in front of a camera behind you?

Laconic responses and silence did not stop journalists from trying to contact him.

During his time in South America, he has ignored questions about his decision to supply landmines to Ukraine, his thoughts on the election and even why he doesn’t answer questions from the press.

As he prepared to board Air Force One in Rio de Janeiro on Tuesday to return home, a reporter even tried to endear himself to the president by marking Biden’s 82nd birthday on Wednesday.

“Mr. President, happy birthday in advance! On your birthday, would you like to speak to us, sir? said the journalist. “As a gift to the press, could you speak to us, please? Mr. President President Biden, please! We haven’t heard from you during your entire trip!

Biden boarded the plane without responding.