In the wake of a challenging week marked by Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report and a subsequent disastrous press conference, a New York Times opinion columnist has posited that President Joe Biden should “shock the world” and drop out of the 2024 race.

“Joe Biden should not be running for re-election. That much was obvious well before the special prosecutor’s comments on the president’s memory lapses inspired a burst of age-related angst,” columnist Ross Douthat urged. “What is less obvious is how Biden should get out of it.”

Ross Douthat, the columnist, expressed his concerns following the release of Special Counsel Robert Hur’s report, which cast doubts on Biden’s mental sharpness by describing him as “a sympathetic, well-meaning, elderly man with a poor memory.” This portrayal, coupled with Biden’s attempt to counter these perceptions through a press conference—later criticized as a “political disaster”—has fueled discussions about his fitness for another term.

Douthat said Biden has major achievements under his belt, but highlighted the potential risks of his continued presidency, given signs of physical frailty and the likelihood of increasing memory lapses. The columnist’s critique extends to the implications of Biden’s potential withdrawal, particularly the dilemma posed by Vice President Kamala Harris’s candidacy, which Douthat views as less viable against Donald Trump.

“The impression the president gives in public is not senility so much as extreme frailty, like a lightbulb that still burns so long as you keep it on a dimmer,” he wrote.

The suggested strategy involves Biden remaining in the race until the Democratic National Convention in August, “when he would shock the world by announcing his withdrawal from the race, decline to issue any endorsement, and invite the convention delegates to choose his replacement.”

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)