Washington Post columnist Matt Bye on Monday criticized President Biden for clinging to power for too long, saying the president's legacy will be that he “didn't know when to step down.”
“After a lifetime of noble service, he, like many of his contemporaries, will be remembered primarily as a man who never knew when to quit.” Mr. Bai wrote.
The president withdrew from the 2024 campaign in late July, about a month after his poor performance in a debate against President-elect Donald Trump in June. Vice President Kamala Harris took over the Democratic presidential campaign but ultimately lost.
“By the time Mr. Biden took to the stage for the debate with Mr. Trump in June, it was clear that history had been hijacked by a dangerous delusion, one that his senior aides and Mr. Biden most closely covered. “It was also shared and promoted by journalists who were working on the matter,” Bai wrote. He said Biden's legislative accomplishments deserve praise.
Hero to Zero: Biden was hailed as 'George Washington' as a dropout, but after Harris' loss, media focused on Biden
Washington Post columnist Matt Bye said President Biden's legacy will be that he “didn't know when to step down.” (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Bayh explained Biden's thought process in the final year of his presidency, saying he did not want to cede power.
“And then there was the awkward question of who, exactly, would succeed him, even though she performed pretty badly as a short-lived presidential candidate during the racially charged summer of 2020. Democratic leaders and Biden have rallied around Vice President Kamala Harris. Her supporters worried that she wouldn't win (of course, a competitive primary could have answered that question, but modern Democrats I'm afraid of any process; I can't orchestrate it),” Bai wrote.
The columnist also said he thought Biden was the best option to defeat Trump, despite his abysmal approval ratings. After Harris lost, the president reportedly regretted resigning, but still believed he could have defeated Trump.
“Even now, near the end of Biden's term, it's impossible to look at him and think: Here is another man who should run for president. “Twenty years from now, this will rank among the most obvious and stupid acts of denial ever committed by a sitting political party,” he continued.
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President Joe Biden speaks at a reception for Democratic new members of Congress in the State Dining Room of the White House on Sunday, January 5, 2025 in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Senator)
“meanwhile [Gerald] with ford [George H.W.] Bush each won a Profile in Courage Award from the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Carter won a Nobel Prize, but Biden had to content himself with a train station and an interstate rest stop in Wilmington, Delaware. 95,” Bai concluded.
In the days following the loss of Mr. Harris, Bai called out. The president and his aides preached the message: “You don't really see what you think you see.”
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“Mr. Biden has always served his country competently and faithfully, but I wonder if the same can be said for Democratic Party aides and leaders who thought voters could mistrust their experience. I don’t know,” he wrote in the paper on November 11th. 8 rows.





