I don’t know if President Biden should drop out. I do know that Democrats need to decide soon and that this could be an opportunity to gain momentum against Trump.
Democrats’ calls for President Joe Biden to exit presidential race grow
As President Joe Biden is recovering from COVID-19, calls are growing for him to exit the presidential race.
There has never been more pressure for President Joe Biden to step down than there is right now. Since his debate performance in June and subsequent public appearances, prominent Democrats and voters alike have called for him to bow out of the race.
Biden seems to be growing more receptive to it, too, if news reports are to be believed. He said Tuesday that he would consider quitting the race if “some medical condition” occurred, less than a day before he tested positive for COVID-19.
Whether Biden actually drops out is a decision only he can make. It may, however, be the best thing for the party.
If he is seriously considering bowing out, he needs to make a decision soon. Time is running out between now and the election, and it’s not like the Republicans are backing down any time soon. It’s a difficult decision ‒ one that cannot be made alone ‒ but it’s one that the president needs to consider in the coming days seriously. If he doesn’t drop out, he will need to prove to members of his own party and the rest of the country that he is still capable.
Obama joins other Democrat bigwigs to suggest Biden should drop out
I knew Biden was in trouble the second he lost former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. In last week’s interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” the congresswoman said the decision to continue running was “up to the president,” as opposed to saying whether or not she thought he should.
That same week, she expressed concerns about his effect on the Democratic Party. While Pelosi hasn’t publicly called on Biden to drop out, apparently she has told the president in private that his staying in the race could cost Democrats the White House and make it harder to win back the House of Representatives.
What about Kamala? Kamala Harris is qualified to be president. So why is Joe Biden holding her back?
She isn’t the only person trying to get Biden to see the writing on the wall. Former President Barack Obama has told allies that he’s worried about Biden’s viability as a candidate. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has privately made the case to Biden about dropping out of the race; House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries has expressed similar beliefs.
On top of major party leaders, nearly 20 House Democrats and one Democratic senator have publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race since his performance at the June debate.
Pressure is mounting, and there seems to be no end in sight. Democrats need Biden to make his plans clear, one way or the other.
Polling shows shifting Biden support
It’s making it more difficult for the president to argue that he still has supporters within the Democratic Party ‒ especially once you factor in polling data. According to a new poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, nearly two-thirds of Democrats say Biden should withdraw from the race.
Other surveys suggest that Vice President Kamala Harris could fare better than Biden in a general election. The Economist/YouGov Poll found that 79% of Democrats would support Harris replacing Biden on the ticket. A Washington Post-ABC News-Ipsos survey also showed Harris polling slightly ahead of former President Donald Trump, 49%-47%.
Polling from right before the assassination attempt on Trump last Saturday doesn’t exactly quell fears about the president’s election viability. In a New York Times/Siena College poll, Trump is leading in Pennsylvania and close behind in Virginia, two consequential states in the Electoral College. A CBS News’ poll shows Trump leading slightly in seven battleground states, including Pennsylvania.
Republican election lies: Republicans really want you to think noncitizens are voting in droves. They’re not.
Emerson College Polling conducted since Saturday found Trump leading by a wider margin in swing states when compared with polling from March.
We can expect polling to get worse for Biden and the noise for him to step away to get louder.
We all learned in 2016 and 2020 that polling isn’t the be-all and end-all for a candidate, but it’s hard to ignore how this perception is already hurting Biden and will continue to hurt him in the race.
Should Biden bow out? A Gen Z perspective.
The hard truth is that replacing Biden with a younger Democrat would solve a lot of the party’s concerns about this presidential election. In a year defined by voter apathy, a shake-up within the executive branch could breathe new life into the party and increase turnout come November.
A new candidate would certainly mitigate some of the issues Gen Z has with Biden, namely his age and his handling of the Israel-Hamas war. I could see this being an inflection point for a disaffected generation that continues to believe politicians do not represent them.
I know replacing a candidate this close to an election would be a complicated process.
Even so, if Democrats are serious about getting Biden off the ticket ‒ and it seems like they are ‒ something needs to be done soon.
Follow USA TODAY elections columnist Sara Pequeño on X, formerly Twitter, @sara__pequeno and Facebook facebook.com/PequenoWrites
Source link : https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/columnist/2024/07/19/biden-step-down-obama-pelosi-democrats-election/74454694007/
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Publish date : 2024-07-20 03:16:42
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