The editorial board at The Boston Globe called on President Biden to suspend his campaign following his poor debate performance and a rocky few days for the Democratic Party.
“In the days since last week’s presidential debate, President Biden’s team has said little that adequately explains why his performance was historically bad, beyond that he had a cold,” the Globe editorial board wrote. “What we mostly heard instead was the closing of ranks around a beleaguered and wounded candidate.”
The editorial board acknowledged it would be a “risky and complicated process” to replace Biden. The party has questioned who, if not Biden, could rally its supporters and ultimately beat former President Trump in the polls this fall.
The Boston Globe’s editorial board joins a growing list of news organizations that have called for the president to step aside. The New York Times said Biden would best serve his country by allowing someone else to have the opportunity. The New Yorker called Biden staying in the race “national endangerment.” The Economist, the Chicago Tribune and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution have also explicitly called for Biden to suspend his campaign.
With panic already underway, the party is now considering its options. Rumored to be on that list are Vice President Harris and multiple Democratic governors.
They are waiting for their chance to lead and take on Trump, the Globe board wrote, but are waiting for Biden to “graciously bow out of the race and free his delegates.”
“For the good of the country, his party, and his legacy, Biden must do this. And soon,” the outlet wrote.
His announcement would spur a short-lived campaign for someone new. The Globe acknowledged that it would be chaotic, “but it would also be damn exciting.”
“And the Democratic Party needs something beyond fear of Trump to energize its troops,” the board argued.
The biggest obstacle, the board said, is Biden himself.
The White House insisted Wednesday that the president will not be dropping out of the race, despite the repeated calls for him to do so.
The Globe called on major Democratic leaders, both former presidents and current members of Congress, to persuade the president that he can exit the race as a hero.
As of Wednesday afternoon, just two House Democrats, Reps. Lloyd Doggett (Texas) and Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), have publicly called for the president to step aside.
“For years during the Trump administration, Democrats lambasted Republican members of Congress who refused to say publicly what they were saying privately: that Trump was unfit to be president,” the board wrote. “We understand why Democrats are hesitant to do the same thing now to a respected president from their own party.”
“It is partly because managing the ravages of age is not equivalent to being a dishonest and incompetent president. But it is also because they fear that questions about Biden’s fitness as a candidate will ultimately translate into questions about his fitness to serve as president. And that will only strengthen Trump’s hand,” the Globe wrote.