The New York Times editorial board renewed its call for President Biden to withdraw from the Democratic presidential nomination, calling him a “disgrace” in a scathing editorial.
The editorial, published Monday, said Biden’s continued campaign would increase the chances of former President Trump recapturing the White House, and that Democrats “who want to defeat Trump in November” should “speak frankly” to the sitting president.
“He needs to be told that his defiant attitude threatens to give Trump a victory,” the committee wrote. “He needs to be told that he is humiliating himself and putting his own legacy at risk. He needs to see clearly that he is no longer an effective voice for his priorities.”
The op-ed came as Biden forcefully pushed back against his critics and stressed he has no plans to back away from the presidential ticket. Biden has argued he is the best Democrat to beat Trump and has already won the delegates needed to become the party’s standard-bearer in this year’s primaries.
The Times argued that Biden has failed to restore confidence in his ability to campaign and defeat Trump. Biden made a strong case for his candidacy in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday, wrote a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Monday and appeared on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
“The intervening days have offered little comfort to voters who hoped that President Biden’s failure to communicate during last month’s debate was an anomaly,” the commission said. I wrote in that article.
“Donald Trump’s candidacy for a second term poses a serious threat to American democracy. Instead of campaigning vigorously to dispel doubts and demonstrate that he can defeat Trump, Biden has maintained a scripted and controlled schedule of public speaking,” the committee wrote.
“Trump has largely avoided answering questions from voters and journalists. These exchanges have exposed his limitations and caused him many problems on the debate stage. And when he tossed the teleprompter, such as during a 22-minute interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday, he continues to give the impression of being a man in decline.”
The Times editorial board on Tuesday also repeated earlier calls for the president to drop out of the race, writing that Biden “doesn’t seem to understand that he’s the problem now. Democrats’ best hope of keeping the White House is for him to step aside.”
