Yet another major newspaper urged Biden to resign after his disastrous debate defeat against President Trump, saying “retirement is now necessary.”
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution on Saturday followed the lead of The New York Times and ran a front-page editorial urging Biden, 81, to pass the baton to another, more qualified candidate.
“Sadly, Biden should withdraw from the race for the good of the country he has served so well for half a century.” Written by the AJC Editorial Board.
Georgia’s largest newspaper called Biden’s performance in Thursday’s debate against convicted Donald Trump “excruciating,” saying the incumbent president had failed to communicate any promise of a second term or his record as president after nearly four years in office.
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The editorial board did not mention a series of gaffes by the sitting president, including saying his son Beau, who was dying of cancer in the U.S., “died in Iraq” and that he “defeated Medicare.”
The president is showing clear signs of early decline, the committee wrote.
The AJC lamented the precedent of George Washington, who retired after two terms at age 64, in which Washington wrote, “As the years press upon me, the shadow of retirement reminds me more and more that it is both welcome and necessary.”
“For President Biden, the shadow of retirement is now necessary,” the AJC editorial board said.
The left-leaning paper acknowledged that forcing Biden to step down and appoint a successor would “require a massive, unprecedented series of legal and regulatory steps,” but stressed that Democrats have a number of strong candidates to choose from.
Moreover, the action is urgent: The AJC is not at all convinced the 80-year-old can beat Trump in November.
“Biden deserves a better exit from public office than he endured when he walked off the stage Thursday night,” the AJC wrote.
“If he displays the courage and dignity that has characterized his political career, he may follow in the footsteps of this nation’s first president and retire with the confidence that he has once again served his country with honor.”
The AJC’s admission that it had lost confidence in Biden came just a day after The New York Times called on the sitting president to step down.
While the liberal editorial board argued that the 81-year-old Biden would have been a “fine president,” it concluded that as a sitting president he appeared “a shadow of the great public servant” on the debate stage and that continuing to run would be a “reckless gamble.”
The Washington Post editorial board was the first major newspaper to publicly express concern about Biden’s continued candidacy following Thursday’s disastrous performance in Biden’s debate with Trump.
“Biden cannot stand this,” the committee wrote less than two hours after the debate ended.
“It’s political malice to continue allowing him to run for reelection. Nationwide It would be cheating to let him continue.”
