Biden Warns Fellow Dems' - "Replacing Me Only Helps Trump"

[Webster]

(The Guardian) Biden warns Democrats talk of replacing him helps Donald Trump
Joe Biden sent a letter this morning to Democratic lawmakers, telling them that he has no plans to end his bid for re-election despite concerns over his debate performance and ability to serve as president, and warning that talk of replacing him undercuts his ability to defeat Donald Trump.

“Now that you have returned from the July 4th recess, I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump,” the president wrote.

In a clear reference to his debate performance, Biden noted that over the past week and a half, “I have heard the concerns that people have – their good faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this election. I am not blind to them.”

But Biden made clear that he felt he was the best candidate to defeat Trump, and noted that he had faced primary challengers who came nowhere near to preventing him from gaining the delegates necessary to becoming the Democrats’s presumptive nominee.

“Do we now just say this process didn’t matter? That the voters don’t have a say?” Biden asked.

He closed by noting that relatively little time remains before the 5 November election, and that arguing over whether he can still do the job hurts the Democratic cause: The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end. We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump. We have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.

 

[Dead2009]

And at the same time, if he flubs the next debate, that just helps Trump win too, so.

 

[MrDawn]

And at the same time, if he flubs the next debate, that just helps Trump win too, so.

Agreed. I'm afraid Biden is going to have to present better and more compelling arguments if he wants to win the race.

 

[Webster]

And at the same time, if he flubs the next debate, that just helps Trump win too, so.

Agreed. I'm afraid Biden is going to have to present better and more compelling arguments if he wants to win the race.

Democrats are in sunk-cost territory here.

Most I suspect realize Joe Biden is not exactly compos mentis at the moment, but what options do they have?

(1) If Biden stays, everything he does will be magnified (including every stumble).
(2) If Biden goes, who do you replace him with?
(2a) How would you explain it to the 14+ million voters who pulled the lever for Biden during the primaries; do their votes no longer matter or count?
(2b) Every potential choice for the Dems' is a potential poisoned chalice - Kamala Harris is a political DEI hire, Gavin Newsom oversees a state in decline, Gretchen Whitmer gives off too-shrill 'Hillary" vibes to be taken seriously
Etc., etc., etc..

Biden's own words don't help him either; back during the 2020 campaign, he said he was going to be a "transition candidate". Lots of Americans took him at their word; /whenif he runs again he effectively makes himself a liar to them.