That President Biden should not run for a second term was clear almost a year ago: In an August 2023 Associated Press poll, 77% of Americans and 69% of Democrats said Biden was too old to serve another four years as president.
But Biden and his aides persevered, forging ahead with a disastrous televised debate on Thursday that vividly displayed the flaws the country was already sensing.
How did this happen? What was the combination of moral conviction, personal confidence, and self-interest that drove Biden to decide to seek another term despite the risks?
I have a unique vantage point to watch Biden teeter on the edge. In September, I wrote a column headlined “President Biden Shouldn't Run Again in 2024.” It shouldn't have attracted so much attention, because I wrote pretty much what many Democrats were thinking last summer. But perhaps the call to step down caused a stir because I've been a strong supporter of much of Biden's foreign and domestic policies.
In the months since that column was published, I've spoken regularly with people close to Biden about why he remained in the race. Their comments help explain the events leading up to Thursday night. And they show how important Biden's aides will now be in encouraging him to step aside and let someone else take on former President Donald Trump.
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Biden ran again primarily because he instinctively felt he could win. He hated Trump, and his weak demeanor on Thursday showed that disdain. It was his political mission to stop Trump and his MAGA insurrection. He'd done it twice, in the 2020 election and the 2022 midterm elections, and he thought he could do it again. Most importantly, he believed no one could do it better than him.
If VP Harris had been more popular than Biden, i.e., if she had led Biden by 10 points in the polls, Biden might have considered withdrawing. But Harris is not popular as a vice president, and Biden knows it. Some say Biden deliberately sidelined Harris, but I think Harris' shortcomings reflect her own political weakness. But the fact is that Biden had no obvious successor.
Perhaps paradoxically, had Trump not run, Biden might have gone too — he could have achieved his political goal of defeating Trump and paved the way for a younger generation of leaders — but Trump's success in the primary all but guaranteed Biden would stay in office.
Biden's family, especially his wife, Jill, have played a key role. When my column was published last September, I heard from people who know Biden well that the president was angry, but it was the first lady who was furious. She has always been Biden's protector and spokesperson. His sons Hunter and Ashley probably wouldn't have been resistant to Biden stepping down. But even after Thursday night's dismal performance, I can still picture Jill Biden on stage at the “victory” party, cheering and chanting, “Four more years!”
Loyalty is admirable, but not when it comes at the expense of those you love. Lady Bird, wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson, was aware of the stresses he was suffering in office and his frail health. She spoke with him at his 1965 inauguration about not seeking reelection, and he told her in 1967 that he would not run the following year, but remained hesitant until his March 1968 announcement.
Biden's aides were also overly protective. Biden was stubborn and sometimes angry. He maintained a very disciplined White House, with few leaks or backstabbing. But loyalty and discipline come at a price. A few days after my column argued that Biden should step down, there were sounds of agreement among insiders, but they were quickly quelled. Discipline won out.
What's especially painful about Biden's story is that he's been a very good president by most measures. The biggest lie Trump told Thursday was his portrayal of the country in a broken mess. The economy is thriving, the United States is working seamlessly with ever-closer allies in Europe and Asia, and America's global financial, military and intelligence superiority has never been more apparent. Biden was effective despite obvious signs of stress. And he remained a decent guy.
That will be his funeral, if he can accept it. I pointed out in September that Biden should understand that he has accomplished what he set out to do in his 2021 inaugural address: “At the end of our lives, our children and our grandchildren will say of us: 'They did their best, they did their duty, they healed a wounded nation.'” Biden has done just that.
Biden's closest aides — political adviser Mike Donilon, former chief of staff Ron Klain and the First Lady — have a duty to be honest with him now. If he has the strength and wisdom to step aside, Democrats have two months to choose another candidate. The race will be crowded and tumultuous, but it will also be energizing for the country. It's not too late to do the right thing.
Thursday night had the feeling of an end. Onstage, Biden's haggard, distraught face, eyes squinting into the fading light, his words stumbling like Shakespeare's, noble as his purpose. I was reminded of the line from “King Lear” in which Edgar counsels his beleaguered father, the Duke of Gloucester: “A man must endure going out as well as coming in. Maturity is all.”
But every ending is also a new beginning, and that is exactly what Biden can bring to the country with the wisdom of his age.
