NY Times calls on Biden to drop out of 2024 presidential race ‘to serve his country’ after abysmal debate performance
The New York Times editorial board called on President Biden to step aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee in the 2024 presidential race Friday, one day after his abysmal performance in a debate against Donald Trump.
While insisting that Biden, 81, had been an “admirable president,” the liberal Grey Lady concluded the incumbent appeared on the debate stage as “the shadow of a great public servant” and would be engaging in a “reckless gamble” by continuing his candidacy.
“There is no reason for the party to risk the stability and security of the country by forcing voters to choose between Mr. Trump’s deficiencies and those of Mr. Biden,” the board wrote. “It’s too big a bet to simply hope Americans will overlook or discount Mr. Biden’s age and infirmity that they see with their own eyes.”
“Mr. Biden answered an urgent question on Thursday night. It was not the answer that he and his supporters were hoping for,” the Times concluded. “But if the risk of a second Trump term is as great as he says it is — and we agree with him that the danger is enormous — then his dedication to this country leaves him and his party only one choice.”
The editorial was published two hours after Biden arrived in New York City for the first of a two-day fundraising swing, which will include a high-dollar event in the Hamptons on Saturday.
It followed a day of chaos and confusion among Democrats after Biden repeatedly froze, misspoke and lost his train of thought during the first of two scheduled debates against his predecessor in Atlanta.
At one point, Biden gazed down at his lectern for nearly 10 whole seconds before popping up again to say that he “finally beat Medicare.”
Follow the latest on Trump and Biden’s 2024 debate:
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The Times editorial board noted that Biden had “challenged Mr. Trump to this verbal duel. He set the rules, and he insisted on a date months earlier than any previous general election debate. He understood that he needed to address longstanding public concerns about his mental acuity and that he needed to do so as soon as possible.”The truth Mr. Biden needs to confront now is that he failed his own test.”
Even before the Times editorial board weighed in, two of the paper’s most prominent columnists had called on Biden to step aside. “The Democratic Party has some prominent figures who I think would be in a good position to defeat Trump in November,” Nicholas Kristoff wrote late Thursday following the debate. “This will be a wrenching choice.”
“But, Mr. President, one way you can serve your country in 2024 is by announcing your retirement and calling on delegates to replace you,” he said, “for that is the safest course for our nation.”
Thomas Friedman, who called Biden “my friend” said that watching the debate “made me weep” and acknowledged that “Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, has no business running for re-election.”
