OPINION | This article contains the author's opinion.
Ross Douthat, an opinion columnist at The New York Times, examined what appears to be a “decline” in President Biden’s capabilities.
“I do not think Biden’s decline is overstated by the media; by some Republicans, maybe, but the mainstream press is, if anything, treading gingerly around the evident reality,” Douthat said.
“But I do think Biden’s defenders are correct that the effect of his age on his presidency has been, at most, only mildly negative,” he added.
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Douthat said there is “increasing anxiety” around Biden’s “lousy poll numbers.”
“[I]n running Biden for re-election,” the columnist later wrote, “Democrats are making a fateful bet that this successful management can simply continue through two sets of risks: the high stakes of the next election, in which a health crisis or just more slippage might be the thing that puts Trump back in the White House, and the different but also substantial stakes of another four-year term.”
“Where I have criticisms of Bidenism,” Douthat said, “they’re mostly the normal ones a conservative would have of any liberal president, not special ones associated with chaos or incompetence created by cognitive decline.”
Douthat further argued that Biden, who is the likely Democratic nominee for the presidency, is facing a significant risk of enabling former President Donald Trump to secure victory in the 2024 election.
Douthat said that “Biden can limp to another victory, that his second term will yield no worse consequences than, say, Ronald Reagan’s did, that having managed things thus far, his aides, spouse and cabinet can see the next five years through.”
This concern regarding Biden’s age and its potential implications for his presidential aspirations is echoed by an increasing number of liberal columnists and thought leaders.
Surprisingly, even The Washington Post featured a dissenting voice on Tuesday, making the case against Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris seeking re-election.
Columnist David Ignatius contended that although Biden “has been a successful and effective president,” it would be wrong for him to run for re-election in 2024.
On the “Morning Joe” show, host Joe Scarborough underscored that virtually “everybody” he and co-host Mika Brzezinski speak to believes that Biden is “Man, he’s too old to run.”
Regarding Kamala Harris, multiple liberal columnists are now urging Biden to consider selecting a different running mate.
Many have argued that there are “better options available” for Biden’s running mate.