New York Times Opinion Writer: Biden Should Step Aside

Douthat did not mince words when he began his piece, “Joe Biden should not be running for re-election.” He wrote:

Saying that things have worked OK throughout this stage of Biden’s decline, though, is very different from betting that they can continue working out OK for almost five long further years. And saying that Biden is capable of occupying the presidency for the next 11 months is quite different from saying that he’s capable of spending those months effectively campaigning for the right to occupy it again.

Douthat suggested that Biden not drop out “today or tomorrow or any day when party primaries are still proceeding.” Instead, Biden should continue to gather pledged delegates “until August and the convention, when he would shock the world by announcing his withdrawal from the race, decline to issue any endorsement, and invite the convention delegates to choose his replacement.”

Douthat said his plan “has the advantage of being discardable if I’m completely wrong, Biden is actually vigorous on the campaign trail, and he’s ahead of Trump by five points by the time August rolls around.”

Last week, a devastating Department of Justice report referred to Biden an “elderly man with a poor memory” and “significant limitations.” The report was part of an investigation by Special Counsel Robert Hur who declined to prosecute the president for “willfully retaining” classified documents.

Debate has been swirling on whether Biden was “too old” to serve a second term due to “cognitive impairment.” He has most recently mixed up the presidents of Mexico and Egypt in a disastrous public address where he attempted to explain his memory was fine.

Joe Biden, at 81, is just four years older than Republican frontrunner Donald Trump, who is 77, and has been prone to his own gaffes, such as confusing Nikki Haley (R-SC) with Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).