The Biden Problem: There Is Still Time for Him To Step Down

The U.S. president’s performance in the TV debate with Donald Trump was somewhat disastrous. The debate over whether he should make way for another candidate has now fully erupted. The Democrats are heading for disaster if they stick with the incumbent.

Joe Biden had retreated to his sparring quarters at Camp David for days to thoroughly prepare for the TV debate with Donald Trump in Atlanta, Georgia. Here is what followed: A U.S. president, hoarse due to a cold, mumbling, experiencing slips of the tongue and lapses, not at his best, sometimes appearing flustered and delivering low blows against his opponent — “This guy” — in a debate that was exceptionally low in quality in places.

The 81-year-old president set out to quash the doubts about his fitness for office and to counteract portrayals of him as a confused old man. The opposite occurred. The debate over whether he should make way for someone else has fully erupted in the aftermath of his somewhat disastrous showing — and it will accompany him at every turn until Election Day. A CNN snap poll speaks volumes: Two-thirds saw Trump as the winner. The Republican candidate emerges stronger from a duel that Biden had needlessly agreed to, with it taking place earlier in the election year than ever before, weeks before the partiies’ presidential conventions and on Biden’s terms.

Dispute over Golf Handicap: ‘Let’s Not Act Like Children’

As ever, the former president took the role of a liar and master of exaggeration, promising impossible feats such as ending the war in Ukraine before even being sworn in. Biden accused him of having the “morals of an alley cat,” and in the end, the discussion turned to who was the better golfer. “Let’s not act like children,” Trump, of all people, told his rival.

The nation — and the entire world — is anxiously awaiting the presidential election in November. While Republicans are going into the election with confidence, Democrats are filled with dread. Biden must honestly ask himself whether he should step aside for Vice President Kamala Harris, who is equally unpopular, or another candidate, in the interest of himself, his party and, not least, the country.

A Bold Move

It is not too late for him to voluntarily step down; there are still seven weeks to go before the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. It would be a fitting place to select a new candidate to rally behind. First Lady Jill Biden, the president’s closest adviser, should urge her husband to give this serious consideration. A change of direction could give the Democrats a boost in the final phase of the election campaign. It would be a bold move and undoubtedly a big risk, but it is a better option than lurching toward disaster with the incumbent.