At the State of the Union Address, President Biden Should Announce that He is Withdrawing His Candidacy in Favor of Kamala Harris
By Jon May and Wallace Anderson
Over the past few weeks, a very public debate has erupted between those who believe that President Joe Biden must step aside in order to prevent Donald Trump from being reelected and those who believe that Biden can defeat Trump and has earned the right to remain in office. The opposing sides understand that the effort to convince Biden to withdraw depends upon the opinions of a handful of key individuals, people whose opinions Biden respects enough to consider stepping aside: Barack Obama, Chuck Schumer, Mike Donilon, Ron Klain, Nancy Pelosi, Anita Dunn, and of course his wife Jill Biden. Although questions about Biden’s fitness for office are not new, this debate has reached a fever pitch at his State of the Union address approaches.
A strategy to convince Biden to step aside requires three elements. First: a compelling argument that Biden cannot win; second, a path to select a candidate with the capacity to reignite the passions of those who voted for Biden in 2020; and third, a viable candidate.
1. The Argument That Biden Cannot Win
The most prominent voices in the movement to have Biden step aside are Nate Silver and Ezra Klein of the New York Times. On February 19, Nate Silver posted on his Substack, Silver Bulletin, “It’s time for the White House to put up or shut up.” On February 16, the topic of the Ezra Klein Show was, “Democrats Have A Better Option Than Biden.”
Both Silver and Klein believe that it was inexcusable for President Biden to forgo giving the traditional Super Bowl interview. Obama did one each year, Trump did three, and Biden availed himself of the opportunity to connect with millions of Americans in 2021; but not this year. When you combine that decision with the fact that Biden has given less than 100 interviews compared to 300 for Trump and 400 for Obama at this stage in their presidencies, it is abundantly clear that Biden’s staff is shielding Biden from any situation where he could be confronted with questions about his fitness to run or his record in office.
Another significant fact is the report of the Special Counsel, who, despite clearing Biden of any wrongdoing in his possession of classified documents, stated that Biden comes across as an elderly man with memory problems. Although Biden vehemently denies the facts that the Special Prosecutor relied on, if the recording of that five hour interview becomes public that could be devastating to Biden’s campaign.
Finally , 70 to as much as 85% of the voting public believe that Biden is too old to be president. They deserve the opportunity to vote for a younger candidate.
If Klein and Silver are correct that Biden’s staff are doing everything they can to shield Biden from any activity that would reflect badly on his fitness for office, what will Biden do when it is time to debate Trump? If he can’t handle interviews with mainstream journalists how will he hold up against Trump. While Trump may not be capable or willing to do the work required to genuinely debate the issues, he will undoubtably accuse Biden and his family of breaking the law and misstate his own and Biden’s accomplishments in office. While Trump has his own memory issues and has even been incoherent at times, he is still a force to be reckoned with. How will Biden hold up to the challenge mentally and physically?
2. The Plan to Replace Biden with a Viable Candidate
Klein argues that the Democrats can choose a new candidate at an open convention from a wealth of qualified people who could throw their hats into the ring. But as Erik Levitz of Vox points out, waiting until the Convention leaves only 11 weeks for the Democrats to introduce that candidate to the country. And the last open convention the Democrats held was in 1968, a time when the country was divided over the Viet Nam war. That convention was marred by violence outside as well as inside the convention and chaos among delegates that culminated in the delegates committed to Eugene McCarthy very publicly exiting the convention. With no clear front runner and a large number of potential contenders, the American public could be treated to another spectacle.
3. Kamala Harris, A Viable Candidate if She Can Begin Her Campaign Now
While it is too late for anyone else to qualify for all but a handful of state primaries, Harris is already on the ballot. A candidate that can start on a presidential run now, has an enormous advantage over a candidate that has to introduce themselves to the nation just a few months before the election.
Harris is not without negatives; she has her share of critics. However, the Republican’s major attacking point, that she has failed to solve the crisis on the Southern border, has far less salience given the Republicans’ refusal to enact their own proposals when they recently had the opportunity to do so.
All the other criticisms of her are small potatoes that the public will not care about. The argument about her polling numbers is undermined by the fact that she has not yet been showcased as the presumptive Democratic nominee or had the opportunity to make the case that she is the best person to lead the country.
What’s important is that Biden will step aside if those he trusts are themselves convinced that Vice President Harris can motivate voters who are no longer enthusiastic Biden supporters to come out and vote. She can also do what Biden has not been able to do, run on the record of the Administration’s accomplishments and the improving economy which the public has not been disposed to give Biden credit for.
Moreover, Harris can do what only a black woman candidate can: bring to the fore Trumps racism and misogyny. While that may not turn off many of Trump’s supporters it will motivate blacks and women and others of all stripes and colors to come out in force.