Will he stay or will he go? That’s the question swirling around Joe Biden as the full-court press to get him out of the presidential race continues, and the picture is no clearer now than it was a week ago.
The latest news has Biden fuming at Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi for trying to orchestrate his exit, though there’s some talk that he’s becoming receptive amid his rage. My money is still on him staying in, if for no other reason than there’s nothing about his history that would suggest his ego would allow him to drop out. Combine that with the hangers-on, including his wife and son, who desperately don’t want the gravy train to end, and Biden continuing to run seems more likely, even if disaster awaits.
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There’s another factor at play, though. Namely, how could Biden step down as the nominee and justify remaining the President of the United States, in control of the most powerful country in the world? Oddly enough, Scott Jennings and Brian Stelter teamed up on CNN to press the issue.
Wherein @brianstelter (!!!) and I wonder: if a Democrat thinks Joe Biden isn’t fit to serve in January, why do they think he’s fit to serve RIGHT NOW? @cnn pic.twitter.com/jU0dLm66bi
— Scott Jennings (@ScottJenningsKY) July 20, 2024
I’ll just point out that Stelter recently started following me on X. Now, I’m not claiming that his doing so has changed his life and he’s slowly but surely becoming more based, but I’m not denying it either.
Seriously, though, both men are correct about the contradiction being pushed forward by Democrats, even though some others are trying to make it all make sense. Jonah Goldberg gave it a shot, and I’ll take the time to explain why he’s wrong.
This just strikes me as a silly argument factually (smart politically though). If Biden broke a hip, he couldn’t run — literally or figuratively — but he could still serve out his term. Cancer might make another term unwise but not require resignation.
This is a head fake. https://t.co/p1HsJ0wYOB
— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahDispatch) July 20, 2024
I’m not going to tear apart the analogies used by Goldberg, as silly as I believe they are, because the point is much broader than that. To put it succinctly, the entire reason there is any push to force Biden to drop out of the presidential race is because of his current condition, and that condition makes him unfit for office.
When Biden was slurring his words while struggling to finish sentences during the first debate, that wasn’t evidence that he may be senile in two to four years, and thus, shouldn’t run for a second term. It was evidence that he is senile right now. Biden’s constant mental lapses coupled with his diminishing physical performance are the backbone of the insurgent campaign against him. If the president presented as sharp and strong enough to finish out his term, absolutely no one in the Democratic party would be suggesting he step aside before serving a second one.
In other words, JD Vance is correct, as are Jennings and Stelter for further noting the issue. Biden leaving the presidential race because he’s too frail to continue but remaining president would be yet another political disaster for the Democratic Party. To do so would be untenable and unexplainable to the American public.
So is Biden going to drop out and resign from the presidency? There’s essentially no chance of that happening because Biden’s ego simply wouldn’t allow his legacy to include “resigned from office.” That makes staying the course still the most probable outcome.
