Delaware Democrats to Their Joyous Party: ‘Et tu, Brute?’

Joyous Democrats have descended on Chicago, a city awash in Kamala Harris merchandise, memes and crowds of people eager to celebrate her White House candidacy, having long moved on from President Biden’s ill-fated run.

Then there are the Delawareans.

As Democrats from Mr. Biden’s home state gathered at a private breakfast on Monday, some couldn’t help reflecting that this was intended to be his Democratic National Convention — until he bowed out of the race last month under staggering pressure from fellow Democrats who feared he would lose and bring the party down with him.

For the long-tenured Delaware Democrats who can rattle off the endorsements Mr. Biden, 81, received in his 1972 Senate race — and can tick through details of his county council term before that — the idea of state and national politics without him is unimaginable. Before his Monday evening speech handing the reins to Ms. Harris, they were already bracing for the waterworks.

“We were banking on him having four more years doing this,” said Rabbi Michael Beals — sometimes called “Biden’s rabbi” because of their longstanding relationship. He predicted tears.

Asked whether he thought Mr. Biden had been treated unfairly by his party, Mr. Beals responded by noting that a Shakespeare festival in Delaware this summer put on the play “Julius Caesar.”

“There’s this scene with, ‘Et tu, Brute?’ where all of his allies are taking knives and killing poor Julius Caesar,” he said. Turning back to Democrats’ revolt against Mr. Biden, he added, “I just couldn’t help but feel that some of them were his colleagues who have been around him for so long and — it was painful to watch.”