The Wall Street Journal’s conservative editorial board is out with a scorching column recommending that President Joe Biden not run for reelection in 2024.
Their nearly 1000-word column begins with the board pointing to polls showing that most Democrat voters hope the president doesn’t run for reelection.
“The public understands what Mr. Biden apparently won’t admit: that electing an octogenarian in obvious decline for another four years could be an historic mistake,” the board writes.
The president is currently 80 years old. If he were to win reelection, he’d be 82 by the time his second term were to begin.
“asking the country 2elect a man who is 80 years old and whose 2nd term would end when he is 86 is a risky act that borders on selfish. It’s impossible 2know Biden’s real physical/mental state because the WH goes to great lengths to hide it.” https://t.co/HvLBspqH3i
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) April 22, 2023
The board continued by acknowledging the temptation for continued power that the president faces.
“No doubt it’s hard to walk away from the Oval Office after working for five decades to get there. Flying Marine One home for the weekends beats Amtrak. The chance to pull the levers of power is intoxicating, and that’s also true for the advisers who have pushed him in such a sharply progressive direction in his first term. They know Mr. Biden will lead wherever they want him to go,” the board writes.
But, the board notes, the president will be 86 by the end of his second term, assuming he’s reelected.
The board further points out that, even at the age of 80, the president is already showing very blatant signs of cognitive decline.
“It’s impossible to know Mr. Biden’s real physical and mental state because the White House goes to great lengths to hide it. But his decline is clear to anyone who isn’t willfully blind. He rarely holds a press conference, and his words are as scripted as possible to avoid embarrassing stumbles that he nonetheless continues to make,” they write.
“Different people age at different rates, but the risk of an accelerated decline for Mr. Biden is considerable. The chance that he could serve a full second term is hardly assured,” they add.
— Mike Murphy (@murfloneranger) October 21, 2022
The board also notes that this risk of Biden dying or declining rapidly while in office means Americans would, if they were to vote for him, possibly be voting to essentially make Vice President Kamala Harris the president.
The good news is there are still 19 months until Election Day 2024, giving the American people plenty of time to judge the president’s health.
“For Democrats, there’s no small risk that Mr. Biden could decline noticeably in the 19 months until Election Day in 2024. In that event, voters on the fence could swing toward a Republican nominee who can at least meet the rigors of the office. Yes, even Donald Trump,” the board notes.
The board continues the column by stressing that, despite the common belief otherwise, Biden isn’t the only Democrat who could defeat former President Donald Trump.
“Mr. Biden may believe he’s the only Democrat who could beat Mr. Trump, but many others also could. And what if Republicans nominate someone else? GOP voters could decide they don’t want to repeat 2020, and a younger GOP nominee would have an advantage over Mr. Biden as the more vigorous candidate of generational change. A younger Democrat would have a comparable edge over Mr. Trump,” they write.
The problem is that if the president remains in the race, then the public will be stuck with Harris in case something bad does indeed happen.
“But if Mr. Biden bowed out now,” the board notes, “Democratic Governors and others would have ample time to organize a campaign and compete for the nomination. The way to get stuck with Ms. Harris is if Mr. Biden clears the field but then has a health setback that forces him to withdraw after the primaries are mostly done.”
Kamala is Veep and this interview proves it https://t.co/kvboefPYl7
— Conservative News (@BIZPACReview) March 16, 2023
Continuing on, the board then points to the GOP’s investigations into the president and his family — particularly his youngest son, Hunter — and notes that they might disappear, but only if Biden drops out of the race.
But in case that’s not convincing enough, the board also points to patriotism as being another great reason for the president to not run.
“But the best reason not to run is for the patriotic good of the country. The world is growing more dangerous by the week, and the U.S. faces more formidable adversaries than any time since the height of the Cold War,” they write.
“It will take more than a figurehead President to confront and counter them. In 2008 Hillary Clinton ran an ad saying that she was prepared to take a 3 a.m. phone call in a crisis. Could an 84-year-old Joe Biden take a 3 p.m. call?” they add.
Probably not …
The board concluded its column by recommending another “prominent Democrat” to run against the president.
“If Mr. Biden ignores all this and does run again, then some prominent Democrat would do the country a service by running against him in the primaries. The polls show that Democratic voters want another candidate. At this moment of great economic and strategic challenge, the United States needs a better presidential choice in 2024 than a redo of Joe Biden vs. Donald Trump,” they wrote.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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