Nick Kristof to Joe Biden - You need to Drop out

[Darth Yan]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/25/opin ... p-out.html

Jesus, this just makes me more worried for the election. I have a lot of respect for Nick Kristof, so for him to openly say that Biden needs to withdraw is worrying. Sad thing is I'm pretty sure Biden's not going to listen, and that may lead to disaster.

[bilateralrope]

The article is paywalled.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

I'll repost what I wrote in the election thread:

Could Biden be replaced as the Democratic presidential candidate and how would that work?

Joe Biden's halting performance at the first televised debate of the US election has invited an unwelcomed question for the Democratic Party - did they choose the wrong man?

At the top of the 81-year-old's agenda for the debate was to put to rest voter concerns about his age and turn the election into a referendum on Trump. But, if anything, his performance only exacerbated voters' fears.

His manner during the CNN debate sparked panic within his own party and some are now actively discussing something what would usually be unspeakable - replacing him on the ballot paper.

But even if the Democrats wanted to, can they?

ITV News takes a look if Biden could be forced out, would he withdraw himself and who could replace him.

Can he be forced out?

Neither of the two US parties have ever tried to force an election candidate to drop out of a presidential election.

In order to force Biden out the door, the Democrats would need to overturn the results of the state primaries.

The vote, which took place earlier this year, confirmed Biden as a virtually unopposed pick for November's election.

Under current Democratic Party rules, it would be almost impossible to replace Biden without his cooperation or without the party officials being willing to rewrite its rules at the August national convention.

There are realistically two ways that Biden could be replaced.

First, a US president can be replaced under the 25th amendment, if he dies or reigns then the vice president takes over.

The president can also make the VP the acting president if they are "unable to discharge the power and duties of his office", such as when Biden had a colonoscopy in 2021 and powers were temporarily transferred to Kamala Harris.

To block the president's return in this situation, and keep the VP in power, there would need to be a two-thirds majority in both houses of Congress to keep the VP in power.

Secondly, would be at the convention where Party rules state: "Delegates elected to the national convention pledged to a presidential candidate shall in all good conscience reflect the sentiments of those who elected them".

However, while the delegates are pledged to vote for Biden, this would not prevent votes against, although this is something that is very unlikely to happen.

To win a presidential nomination, you need the majority of your party's 4,000 delegates to back you. Biden won around 3,900 at the primaries.

Can he withdraw himself?

Realistically, the only scenario that would enable the Democrats to choose a new candidate to take on Trump would be for Biden to withdraw.

Biden has repeatedly dismissed the notion of stepping down but if he did abandon his campaign, the 81-year-old would need to release his delegates from their obligation to vote for him at August's convention.

With no clear candidate being in place to step into the president's shoes, such a U-turn could destablise the Democratic party.

If Biden were to abruptly leave the race, conservative groups have suggested they will file lawsuits around the country, potentially questioning the legality of the Democratic candidate's name on the ballot.

Could Vice President Kamala Harris replace Biden?

If Biden was to step down voluntarily before the election, vice president Kamala Harris would become president until the end of his administration. If he was to quit after being re-elected, she would also become president for the second term.

But as Biden's running mate, she cannot step up to fill the Democratic candidacy by default.

If Biden opts to abandon his re-election campaign, Harris would likely join other top Democratic candidates looking to replace him.

But that would probably create a scenario where she and others end up lobbying individual state delegations at the convention for their support.

That hasn't happened for Democrats since 1960, when John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson jockeyed for votes during that year’s Democratic convention in Los Angeles.

Harris's poll numbers have been consistently worse than Biden's throughout their administration.

Who could replace Biden aside from Harris?

The California governor talked down the possibility of replacing Biden on the ballot to reporters in the spin room on Thursday evening.

The 56-year-old said any alternative to the incumbent president was "nonsensical speculation".

However, he is widely thought to hold ambitions of making it to the Oval Office, and last year drew the ire of the Biden administration after holding a primetime debate with Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The debate was thought by some as the pair putting themselves in the shop window and previewing the 2028 presidential contest.

Gretchen Whitmer. On the shortlist for Biden's VP pick in 2020, the Michigan governor cruised to re-election in 2022.

She has led the Democrats in Michigan to strong midterms and has been credited with helping the party to flip both houses in the state's legislature.

[Tribble]

Yeah, good luck with that:

Biden vows to fight on, rejecting calls to step aside

Author, Bernd Debusmann Jr
Role, BBC News, Washington
28 June 2024
Updated 2 hours ago
US President Joe Biden has hit back at criticism over his age, telling supporters in a fiery speech that he will win re-election in November after a poor debate performance fuelled concern about his candidacy.
"I know I'm not a young man, to state the obvious," he told a rally in the battleground state of North Carolina on Friday, one day after he struggled in the televised showdown with his Republican rival Donald Trump.
"I don’t walk as easy as I used to... I don’t debate as well as I used to," he acknowledged. "But I know what I do know, I know how to tell the truth [and] I know how to do this job."
Mr Biden, 81, said he believed with his "heart and soul" that he could serve another term, as the cheering crowd in Raleigh chanted “four more years”.

While questions over Mr Biden's age are not new, his shaky performance on the debate stage - which was marked by verbal blanks, a hoarse voice and some difficult-to-follow answers - triggered panic among some Democrats who raised fresh questions about his candidacy.
Mr Biden's campaign has remained emphatic that the country's oldest presidential candidate is still fit to serve another term. Campaign officials said he would not step aside for another nominee, despite the poor performance.
"Absolutely not," Mia Ehrenberg, a Biden campaign spokesperson, said in response to questions about whether Mr Biden would vacate his candidacy.
And while several campaign surrogates - including Vice President Kamala Harris - admitted in interviews that the president stumbled during the debate, they reiterated their commitment to the elder statesman and stressed that his answers were more substantive than Mr Trump's.

The president might have lost the debate on style, but he won it on facts, he won it on decency, and he won it on the ideas people think are important in this country,” campaign co-chair Mitch Landrieu said on CNN the morning after the debate.
In the days since, many senior Democrats and Biden allies have made additional efforts to defend the former president's performance and calm liberal jitters.
Former President Barack Obama, who remains one of the party's most popular figures, tweeted that "bad debate nights happen".
"This election is still a choice between someone who fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself," Mr Obama wrote, adding that Mr Trump is "someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit".
But Democratic fears about Mr Biden are far from quashed.
Party officials, political operatives, and people close to the president who spoke to the BBC's Katty Kay painted a picture of an anxious party concerned about the strength of their candidate.
Nancy Pelosi, the former Democratic House speaker, said that “from a performance standpoint it wasn’t great”. Other Democrats, such as Biden’s former communications director Kate Bedingfield, called it “a really disappointing debate performance”.
Democratic donors who spoke anonymously to various media outlets were more forthright, with one calling the performance "disqualifying".
"The only way it could have been more disastrous was if he had fallen off the stage. Big donors are saying... he has to go,” one Democratic operative told the Financial Times.
And on Friday, the New York Times editorial board called on Mr Biden to drop out. It said Democrats should "acknowledge that Mr Biden can’t continue his race, and create a process to select someone more capable to stand in his place".
Mr Trump, meanwhile, held a rally of his own in Virginia just hours later, where he hailed a "big victory" in the debate, which CNN said was viewed by 48 million people on television and millions more online.
"Joe Biden's problem is not his age," the 78-year-old Trump said. "It's his competence. He's grossly incompetent."
The former president said he did not believe speculation that Mr Biden would drop out of the race, saying he "does better in polls" than other Democrats, including California Governor Gavin Newsom and Vice-President Kamala Harris.

Despite concern from some media pundits, early indications suggest there has been "no change" in the polls in the aftermath of the debate, the Washington Post columnist Philip Bump told BBC R4's Today programme.
Speaking later on the programme, pollster Frank Luntz said there may not be a significant change to voters' intentions - as most Americans have already made up their minds about who they will vote for later this year.
Early polls do show that American voters considered Mr Trump to be the clear winner, however.
A post-debate poll by liberal pollster Data for Progress found that 62% of likely voters who watched or read about the debate found Trump won. Only 30% of those polled by the progressive polling group said Mr Biden won the debate.
Until further polling is conducted, fundraising could be another indication of continued enthusiasm for Mr Biden's candidacy - a significant change on that front could pose a major challenge for Democrats.
In an apparent effort to show it was maintaining momentum, the Biden campaign has said that the president raised $14m from fundraisers in recent days.
And from the Thursday debate to Friday evening, it said Mr Biden had raised more than $27 million for the campaign.
Mr Biden is also expected to meet with additional donors on Saturday. He has planned fundraisers in the wealthy New York Hamptons and in Redbank, New Jersey.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cne4z2p7nl4o.amp

Biden knows full well he’s too damn old and unfit for office, but is too stubborn and proud to admit it. He also seems to believe that even in his current state he is the only one in the party capable of doing the job, and his advisors aren’t helping! Biden’s ego and declining mental faculties may very well cost the Democrats the election.

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Trump is only 3 years younger and has been showing signs of dementia for longer than that.

[bilateralrope]

Despite concern from some media pundits, early indications suggest there has been "no change" in the polls in the aftermath of the debate, the Washington Post columnist Philip Bump told BBC R4's Today programme.
Speaking later on the programme, pollster Frank Luntz said there may not be a significant change to voters' intentions - as most Americans have already made up their minds about who they will vote for later this year.

Hopefully this holds.

[Tribble]

Trump is only 3 years younger and has been showing signs of dementia for longer than that.

Granted, but the “Trump is almost as old!” isn’t exactly a winning argument.

Between the two, Trump came across as his rambling lying fascist self, while Biden looked and sounded like he could die on stage any moment.

IMO Democrats who still think Biden is an acceptable candidate after that debacle have their heads shoved deep in the sand.

[Ralin]

Trump is only 3 years younger and has been showing signs of dementia for longer than that.

Are you suggesting Trump isn't blatantly unfit for office?

[Tribble]

Trump is only 3 years younger and has been showing signs of dementia for longer than that.

Are you suggesting Trump isn't blatantly unfit for office?

Assuming that was meant for me (apologies if not), and… no? Trump is a raving wannabe Nazi who should have been impeached and jailed.

Were I American, would I personally vote for Biden, given that Trump is the alternative? Sure. I’d vote for a cactus before I’d vote for Trump.

That does not make having Biden run a good idea, no matter how much the Democrats have their heads shoved up their own asses in denial.

[Ralin]

Assuming that was meant for me, and… no? Trump is a raving wannabe Nazi who should have been impeached and jailed.

It was actually aimed at the person I was quoting.

Presumably no he is not suggesting that, but responding to people saying that Biden is too old and demented to be a good candidate by pointing at Trump is either implying that or kind of a pointless comparision unless we're trying to convince Republicans to drop him too. It's hard to think of a lower bar.

[Tribble]

Assuming that was meant for me, and… no? Trump is a raving wannabe Nazi who should have been impeached and jailed.

It was actually aimed at the person I was quoting.

Presumably no he is not suggesting that, but responding to people saying that Biden is too old and demented to be a good candidate by pointing at Trump is either implying that or kind of a pointless comparision unless we're trying to convince Republicans to drop him too. It's hard to think of a lower bar.

Fair enough!

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Because Trump has been showing signs of dementia, his voters will literally be voting for a madman. I don't know who said it first, though it makes you wonder if both were subjected to the same cognitive tests which one would do worse.

[Tribble]

Because Trump has been showing signs of dementia, his voters will literally be voting for a madman. I don't know who said it first, though it makes you wonder if both were subjected to the same cognitive tests which one would do worse.

That would be interesting. Trump is quicker out of the gate but is prone to cluelessly ranting and lying about virtually everything.

Biden actually knows what he is doing, but the train seems to take a while to leave the station and is prone to breaking down and derailing.

Trump is like a PC with no hard drive, while Biden is like a PC with no Ram. Which is worse?

Edit: from a cognitive perspective, obviously the lying wannabe Nazi is worse from a voting standpoint.

[Ralin]

I think the real issue is that Trump is demonstrably much better at giving his constituents what they want (owning the libs, cruelty, tax cuts, etc) than Biden.

[bilateralrope]

Assuming that was meant for me, and… no? Trump is a raving wannabe Nazi who should have been impeached and jailed.

It was actually aimed at the person I was quoting.

Presumably no he is not suggesting that, but responding to people saying that Biden is too old and demented to be a good candidate by pointing at Trump is either implying that or kind of a pointless comparision unless we're trying to convince Republicans to drop him too. It's hard to think of a lower bar.

That's the problem with US presidential elections. You get two candidates who have a chance of winning. The only comparisons that matter for the election are comparisons between those two candidates.

At this point, the best I can hope for is Biden winning and appointing people who will invoke the 25th amendment if needed.

Trump is only 3 years younger and has been showing signs of dementia for longer than that.

One other difference that comes to mind is that Biden is admitting that he did badly in the debate.

While Trump refuses to admit when he messes up. Going back at least to 2017 and covfefe. Rather than admit a typo, he somehow had Sean Spicer say "

[bilateralrope]

I see I screwed up that last link. It should be to this article: Sean Spicer just had the worst possible answer to the ‘covfefe’ question

Fifteen hours after Donald Trump typed the now-infamous words “Despite the constant negative press covfefe” into his Twitter account, White House press secretary Sean Spicer was asked about the incident.

“The president and a small group of people know exactly what he meant,” Spicer responded.

[Khaat]

Al the while, context clues where that he started typing "coverage" but crashed hard and twitched the "send" button at some point later.

[Rogue 9]

I notice the NYT never called on the convicted fucking felon to drop out.

[bilateralrope]

I notice the NYT never called on the convicted fucking felon to drop out.

Not even when he was bragging about passing the "Person. Woman. Man. Camera. TV." test. There are some details about that test that weren't widely reported

"It's not an IQ test. It's not a test of intelligence. It's a screening test really designed for patients who may have some symptoms of cognitive decline,” said Jonathan Reiner, a cardiologist and professor of medicine and surgery at George Washington University’s medical school.

Also notable: Trump keeps describing things that aren’t on the actual test, said Ziad Nasreddine, the Canadian neurologist who invented the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA

Basically, either Trump was given a version of the test that was easier than the official versions and/or he's making stuff up about it.

But Biden having one bad day at a debate is somehow much worse.

[Gandalf]

I notice the NYT never called on the convicted fucking felon to drop out.

Why would they? The bar is lower for Republicans because they're varying flavours of terrible.

[Tribble]

I notice the NYT never called on the convicted fucking felon to drop out.

Why would they? The bar is lower for Republicans because they're varying flavours of terrible.

Republicans are delighted at having a criminal in the office, as that means he’s someone willing to break the law to get the job done (and will now be immune thanks to SCOTUS).

Hitler was a criminal too after all.

[Ralin]

Well holy shit sounds like he listened: https://x.com/JoeBiden/status/181508088 ... mxm7g&s=19

[EnterpriseSovereign]

Well holy shit sounds like he listened: https://x.com/JoeBiden/status/181508088 ... mxm7g&s=19

Indeed:
Biden drops out of 2024 presidential race after mounting in-party pressure

Joe Biden has announced he will withdraw from the 2024 US presidential race.

Following heavy pressure from within his own party to quit, amid questions about his mental capacity, the 81 year old confirmed his resignation on X.

“I believe it in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down,” he said.

The 81-year-old president confirmed he would remain president until the end of his term, which ends on January 20, 2025, but did not indicate who he would like to succeed him as the Democrat nominee.

Biden, who remains at his Delaware beach house after being diagnosed with Covid-19 last week, said he would address the nation later this week to provide “detail” about his decision.

Unlike a president’s resignation, which automatically promotes the vice president, Biden dropping out of the race does not mean that VP Kamala Harris will take over his role.

His to not explicitly endorse Harris appears to set the stage for a leadership battle, with the vice president likely to face competition from other Democrats.

The Democratic National Convention, where his nomination would have been formally confirmed and where his successor will likely be decided, is scheduled for August 19-22.

Biden's announcement comes after he faced mounting pressure to stand down due to his health and age.

The criticism started when he faced Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump in a much-criticised head-to-head TV debate.

Calls for his withdrawal from the presidential race have only grown in the wake of a series of gaffes, including at this month's Nato conference in which he introduced Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin".

Former President Barack Obama and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are both reported to have expressed concerns in recent days about the likelihood of Biden securing a second term in the White House.

Biden’s granddaughter said she is “proud” of how her grandfather served “our country”.

In a post to X, Naomi Biden, wrote: “I’m nothing but proud today of my Pop, our President, Joe Biden, who has served our country with every bit of his soul and with unmatched distinction.

“Not only has he been — and will continue to be — the most effective president of our lifetime, but he has likely already cemented himself as the most effective and impactful public servant in our nation’s history."

It comes as Trump this week accepted the Republican Party's nomination, days after a failed assassination attempt on his life.

Biden ousted Trump from the White House during the 2020 presidential election - a result which led to the deadly January 6 riot in 2021.

It is unclear who the Democrats will put forward as Biden's potential successor.

This is going to make things interesting

[Rogue 9]

Biden still knows how to play politics; he even did his withdrawal from the race masterfully. By doing a press release on a Sunday afternoon after the RNC, he made the Republicans waste their entire convention campaigning against the wrong candidate, and going after the Sunday talk shows as a surprise meant the media that's been savaging him for weeks couldn't schedule pundits to trash him while he was speaking.

[bilateralrope]

I did make a comment speculating about the timing of any announcement. I'd seen similar speculation elsewhere. People who weren't sure if Biden would dropout but were saying that if he did, it would be after the RNC for strategic reasons.

Which means we can't be sure when Biden decided that he was dropping out.