CHICAGO − Joe Biden wasn’t prepared to step aside.

After years of aspiring to the presidency, he finally secured the role and was not about to back down. He gathered campaign funds, assembled a team, and hit the trail again, believing he would secure another term.

However, a poor performance in a debate in Atlanta altered everything. Just seven weeks later, he arrives at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, not as the party’s presidential candidate but as a departing president passing the torch to a possible successor and the next generation.

“This was certainly a tough moment for Joe Biden,” noted Chris Whipple, author of “The Fight of His Life: Inside Joe Biden’s White House.”

Despite the challenging weeks that led to this decision, Biden will place those emotions aside, just as he did when he announced his exit from the race last month.

“The defense of democracy matters more than any title,” he stated during an Oval Office address on July 24, explaining why he chose to step down.

This wasn’t the first time he altered his stance on an issue. Throughout his five-decade political journey, Biden’s opinions have adapted to shifting times, evolving attitudes, and heightened understanding of human nature.

While these changes were significant, none could compare to the enormous impact of his announcement last month that he was suspending his campaign.

That sunny Sunday in late July marked a pivotal moment in the presidential race, potentially reshaping American history and signaling the conclusion of his time in public life.

On stage at Chicago’s United Center on Monday night, he will discuss the stakes in the final weeks leading up to the election and encourage support for the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris, against Republican Donald Trump this November.

“He’ll put aside any bitterness he might feel and focus on the moment,” Whipple remarked.

‘You deal with the world as it is’

Throughout his political journey, Biden has often found himself re-evaluating his stance on tough issues as global perspectives evolved.

In the political realm, leaders who modify their views are frequently criticized. They face mockery and are labeled as “flip-floppers,” with allegations of opportunistic decision-making.

Due to the potential backlash, Biden’s supporters and longtime colleagues strongly argue against claims that he has changed over the years. They maintain that his fundamental principles have remained intact.

Take abortion, for instance. Biden has consistently upheld the right to privacy for women seeking abortions. As a devout Roman Catholic, he has long had personal reservations about abortion but asserts that he will never enforce his religious beliefs upon others.

“When it comes to abortion and choice, the right to privacy has always guided him,” stated Jeff Peck, a former aide to Biden during various stages of his political career. “His stance has been stable. He won’t impose his faith on anyone else.”

However, Biden’s approach to abortion has indeed evolved over time.

In 1974, shortly after the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision legalized abortion nationwide, Biden commented in a magazine article that he didn’t believe a woman held exclusive rights to make decisions about her body. Yet, he also opposed a constitutional amendment to ban abortion, insisting he had no right to force his religious beliefs on others.

By 1982, he supported an amendment with Republican colleagues that would have allowed Congress and states to create laws against abortion. Although the amendment passed in committee, it never reached a vote in the Senate. Biden described this vote as one of the hardest of his career, again expressing uncertainty about imposing his views on a national issue.

As recently as 2006, Biden stated he did not regard abortion as purely “a choice and a right.” However, in June 2019, while campaigning for the presidency, he changed course and announced his opposition to the Hyde Amendment, which had long restricted federal funding for abortions in most situations. Following the Supreme Court’s dismantling of Roe v. Wade two years later, Biden, then president, warned that the ruling endangered women and initiated efforts to reinstate abortion protections through federal legislation.

Over the years, Biden’s views on various topics have significantly changed — in both major and minor ways.

Earlier in his career, Biden expressed concerns that gay individuals could pose a security threat to the nation. During his time as a senator, he held views that often puzzled and angered LGBTQ advocates. However, as society’s perspectives evolved, so did Biden’s. His groundbreaking support for same-sex marriage in 2012, while he was vice president, marked a significant turning point in the fight for marriage equality. Today, Biden is recognized as the most LGBTQ-supportive president in American history.

When he first entered the Senate, Biden resisted the mandate for busing, which was designed to integrate schools by bringing Black students into predominantly white schools. He spearheaded efforts in the Senate to abolish the program, stating, “I have come to believe that busing is a flawed approach.”

Years later, this stance became a point of contention during the 2020 presidential election, drawing criticism from Kamala Harris, a competitor who later became his vice president.

As president, however, Biden has made numerous efforts to support Black Americans. These include addressing racial bias in housing, advocating for greater accountability in policing, and promoting laws aimed at eliminating voter suppression.

In response to some conservatives claiming that diversity and inclusion initiatives have gone too far, Biden named Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court. He also commemorated the 70th anniversary of the pivotal Brown v. Board of Education ruling, which played a critical role in the desegregation of schools and was a key moment in the civil rights movement.

During the anniversary, Biden invited families related to the case to the White House. While the meeting remained private, he issued a statement emphasizing that the ruling “enabled numerous schools to cultivate diverse, inclusive educational environments that emphasize empathy, kindness, and tolerance, although the full promise of Brown v. Board of Education has yet to be realized.”

“Much work remains to guarantee every student has equal access to quality education and that our school systems genuinely benefit from the diverse talents of our student body — as diversity has always been one of our nation’s greatest assets,” Biden expressed.

During his Senate years, Biden adopted a hardline approach to crime and was instrumental in passing legislation criticized for contributing to the mass incarceration of Black and brown populations, exacerbating the nation’s escalating drug crises, from crack cocaine to fentanyl. As president, he has suggested a drug control strategy centered on treating addiction as a health issue and reclassifying marijuana to reflect its lesser danger.

“It’s time we look at addiction like any other ailment,” he remarked, drawing from his personal experience as a father of Hunter Biden, who has dealt with addiction issues.

Supporters argue that Biden’s shifting views do not indicate a fundamental alteration in his core beliefs.

“He has always advocated for workers’ rights and labor, consistently pushing for fair taxation. His foreign policy views have been stable, particularly regarding NATO and alliances. When it comes to immigration, he has always endeavored to treat individuals with dignity while ensuring border security,” Peck stated.

Current and former aides have noted that Biden’s changes on various issues reflect broader national shifts. Fifty years ago, as he began his Senate career, there was minimal support among Americans for LGBTQ+ rights. Now, polls indicate that over three-quarters of Americans endorse LGBTQ+ rights and 69% support same-sex marriage.

Political figures with long careers like Biden must respond to contemporary challenges while remaining aware of the evolving public sentiments surrounding those challenges, according to Ted Kaufman, who served as Biden’s chief of staff in the Senate.

In this way, Biden parallels other notable American leaders like Abraham Lincoln, Martin Luther King Jr., and Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, all of whom believed that personal growth is essential to public service.

For Biden, “what he has done reflects what many experience in life — you engage with the world as it is when you’re young, and that perspective shifts as time goes on,” Kaufman reflected. “Your outlook changes at different stages of life — at 20, 30, 40, and so on.”

“There’s a significant difference between a first-term senator altering their stance and someone with five decades in politics. On nearly every major issue, he has demonstrated strong and consistent principles,” he concluded.

Yet, his most notable shift in perspective was still ahead.

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A threat ‘unlike any I’d ever seen’

Initially, Biden believed he had stepped away from politics.

Having completed eight years as vice president under Barack Obama and previously serving in the Senate for 36 years, he sought to embrace life outside of political duties. Still mourning the loss of his eldest son, Beau, who passed away two years prior, he tried to find solace in a post-political existence.

Then the events in Charlottesville transpired.

In 2017, during a rally in Virginia, white supremacists brandished weapons, Confederate flags, and neo-Nazi emblems, clashing violently with counterprotesters. Many were injured, and a young woman lost her life when a white supremacist plowed into the crowd.

Trump, who succeeded Obama as president, controversially defended the white nationalists, suggesting that there were “very fine people on both sides” during a press conference.

Biden, horrified by the actions of the white supremacists and Trump’s response, has cited this as a pivotal reason for his decision to run for president four years later. In his campaign announcement video, the very first words he spoke were “Charlottesville, Virginia.”

With Trump defending the white nationalists, “the president of the United States equated those promoting hate, which profoundly troubled Biden,”

“And those who dared to oppose it,” Biden stated. “In that instant, I realized that the danger facing our nation was unlike anything I had encountered in my lifetime.”

Biden emerged victorious in the election, overcoming Trump. Four years later, Trump is poised to return as the Republican frontrunner. With no significant challengers, Biden has been seen as the likely Democratic nominee, even as surveys reveal that many voters have serious reservations about his age and are not enthusiastic about a repeat matchup against Trump.

Declining poll ratings and a poor showing against Trump during a debate in Atlanta on June 27 led to his downfall. His support dwindled, and donations to his campaign fell sharply. A campaign by former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi pushed him to step back from the race, allowing Harris to take the lead as the Democratic nominee.

Deciding to step down was “the toughest decision of his career,” possibly more challenging than his withdrawal from the 1987 presidential race due to plagiarism allegations, according to Whipple.

“To this day, Joe Biden believes he could have won the 2024 race, that he could beat the odds and the critics one last time,” Whipple remarked. “Ultimately, he realized that he could not move forward with a divided party calling for him to resign. He saw what was ahead and made his choice – but it was not an easy one.”

Now, Biden is set to address the Democratic National Convention on Monday, focusing not on his political future, but on the legacy he wishes to leave.

So, what will that legacy be? Biden’s speech on Monday night is expected to highlight how he perceives the past four years. A Biden aide mentioned that he intends to discuss his initiatives to revitalize the middle class, restore America’s global stature, defend democracy against authoritarian rule, and advocate for Harris as the suitable candidate to carry on that unfinished work.

How history views Biden will hinge on the election’s outcome. If Harris prevails, many may regard him as a selfless leader who protected democracy. Conversely, if Trump wins, some might see him as a leader who overstayed his welcome, resulting in significant ramifications for his party and country.

Regardless, legacies are shaped through the perspective of history.