Why Biden must step down

Biden and other Democrats have said - correctly - that the November election is an existential decision on keeping a democracy. We need the strongest candidate to defeat Trump

As I have written before, President Joe Biden has been one of the best Presidents in recent history (see below). Historians rank him #14 among 46 Presidents, while at the same time ranking Trump as the very worst of all time.

President Biden and other Democratic candidates have stressed the importance of the November election, which could determine whether the United States continue to be a democracy or becomes a dictatorship. I also wrote about that.

However, the performance of President Biden in the June 27th debate on CNN, as well as in the interview with George Stephanopoulos on ABC on July 5th, and other appearances (or lack thereof) in the days since the debate have made it very clear that President Biden suffers from cognitive decline, and he does not have the capacity to continue to campaign (much less to lead the most powerful country on the Earth for another four years).

Several Democratic members of Congress, Governors and elected officials have called on Biden to step down. Senator Mark Warner is reportedly trying to get a number of Senators to speak out. Even some close allies of the President, from Barack Obama to Nancy Pelosi, have referred to the “growing challenges” that Biden faces.

More tellingly, former President and convicted felon Donald Trump has urged Biden to stay on; and another convicted felon, Hunter Biden, is also pressing his father to remain as a candidate.

In a rather callous remark, Biden says he'd be okay losing to Trump, 'as long as I gave it my all'. Of course, he and his family would personally be OK (unless Trump weaponizes the Justice Department to seek revenge, as he has threatened). But most Americans and most people in the world would be much worse off (including women, immigrants, Muslims, LGBTQ+ people, African-Americans, Latinos, Palestinians, Ukrainians, etc.).

The 538 poll average, in which Biden had very briefly obtained a small advantage before the debate (0.3 %), now shows a significant lead for Trump (2.5 %), as of July 6th).

Another important shift is that, for the first time, other potential candidates (Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, Gavin Newsom, even Michelle Obama) are performing better in polls against Trump than Biden.

Assuming that President Biden can be persuaded to relinquish his candidacy (to protect his own legacy, if nothing else), the best course of action would be for him to call his delegates to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris.

Apart from being the person that Joe Biden himself selected as his potential replacement, the funds raised for the Biden-Harris campaign could be easily shifted to a candidate Harris. This would also prevent a protracted and potentially divisive battle within the Convention between several possible candidates. And pushing aside a black and female candidate would alienate two basic Democratic constituencies.

As a former California Attorney General and Senator, Kamala Harris is ideally suited to campaign against a convicted felon with multiple indictments and 91 felony charges, who has also been found liable for rape and fraud. She can also forcefully campaign in defense of women’s rights, including the right to an abortion (topic on which Biden was particularly befuddling in the debate).

If nominated, Ms. Harris should select as a running mate a white, male, moderate Governor from a swing State or a State that could potentially be flipped. Possible candidates: Josh Shapiro (Pennsylvania), Roy Cooper (North Carolina), Andy Beshear (Kentucky) or Jared Polis (Colorado). J.B. Pritzker (Illinois) and Gavin Newsom (California) are also forceful campaigners, but it is not clear if they would add to the ticket (in the case of Newsom, Kamala Harris would need to change her residence).

The Democrats, in contrast to the MAGA Republicans, are not a cult. We do not support Biden blindly or without question. We need the candidate who can best ensure defeating Trump in November. I strongly believe that candidate is Kamala Harris, in conjunction with a moderate Governor.

Source: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/polls/president-general/2024/national/