If President Biden had plans for the weekend, he should cancel them and do some soul-searching. His dismal performance in Thursday's debate raises legitimate questions about whether he's ready for four more years of the toughest job in the world. It is incumbent on the incumbent president to sit down with his family and aides and decide whether seeking reelection is in the best interest of the country.
Former President Donald Trump powerfully demonstrated Thursday why preventing Trump's reelection is his top priority. Biden faces not only a personal decision, but a presidential decision: what is best for the country, regardless of his personal feelings.
Despite the tone of some Instagram reactions to the debate, the choice is not easy. Biden secured the number of delegates needed to win the Democratic nomination three months ago. The only way Democrats can nominate someone else at their convention in Chicago in seven weeks is if the president chooses to step aside. And that will be complicated. Whether it will be more disruptive than Biden continuing to run can only be explained if we come to the conclusion that things can't get any worse.
Even if Biden were to withdraw, there would be no guarantee that the Democrats would win the presidential election in November. While there is no clear historical precedent, it is worth noting that Republican challengers won in 1952 and 1968 after Presidents Harry S. Truman and Lyndon B. Johnson both chose not to seek reelection. In the second case, the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that same year was thrown into chaos amid protests against the Vietnam War. The party ended up nominating Johnson's vice president, Hubert H. Humphrey, as its candidate.
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Finding a suitable replacement at the last minute this year will be harder than in 1968. And the eventual candidate could emerge politically wounded, like Humphrey. Biden has managed to mask divisions within the Democratic coalition (between progressives and traditional liberals, between democratic socialists and minority socially conservative voters) that could quickly widen into chasms at an open convention. Automatic reliance on Vice President Harris, who ran a lackluster presidential campaign five years ago and struggled to rise to the No. 2 spot, would also be risky.
So what should the Democratic Party do in 2024? It's not enough to impose a slate of candidates from above these days. The best case scenario, if Biden withdraws, is for the party to invite several interested candidates to consider running and ask them to participate in a series of debates over the next seven weeks. The convention would then be open to these candidates. It would be the Democratic convention delegates who would have the deciding vote, not the primary voters. But the process would be transparent.
But this will require more than Biden's consent: Harris will have to be willing to enter an open race with the chance to come out on top — in other words, a spirit of patriotism and self-sacrifice that is sorely lacking in modern politics (and, really, all politics).
If Biden successfully passes the baton, he may be remembered as a 21st-century Cincinnatus, a praiseworthy president who led the country through the COVID-19 pandemic, restored normalcy after the January 6, 2021, insurrection, rallied Western nations to protect Ukraine from a full-scale Russian invasion, and signed an ambitious National Climate and Industrial Plan into law. If he hangs on and is defeated this fall, he risks leaving a different kind of legacy, like that of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose refusal to retire during Barack Obama's presidency led directly to the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Worse, the country will be facing the consequences of Trump's second term. Trump lied repeatedly in Thursday's debate, but he did so consistently and with ease. Biden couldn't compete on split screen. To make a convincing case against Trump, you need a strong opponent. Biden didn't just act like a senior student once or twice; he repeatedly failed to refute Trump's flood of lies.
Biden sounded vocal at a rally in North Carolina on Friday. His defenders point out that he performed well in the State of the Union address in March. There is ample precedent for incumbents to be reelected after losing the first debate. If Biden goes ahead, he has four months to ease concerns about his mental and physical strength. But occasional strong performances are a weak tool in the balance of a crucial election.
Nothing good will come from panicking. Biden cannot be forced to do anything he doesn't want to do, nor should he be. All Biden can do is do what many Americans are doing this weekend: wonder whether he can get the job done.
