Biden’s team called for this early presidential debate so that Biden could prove to the American people that he was energetic and committed, capable of governing the country for another 4 years, putting aside universally shared concerns that he might be too old for the job.
Biden failed the test, and not by little, he failed disastrously. Instead of proving that he had the energy and stamina necessary for the job, he demonstrated the opposite, he staggered, he stumbled – it was the performance of a man approaching senility.
Trump did not win the debate in substance – his torrent of lies was excessive, even coming from someone we are used to hearing lie – but in terms of style, he easily won, as he presented an image of a articulate, aggressive and strong artist, and confronting a weak and hesitant President who was never able to take advantage of the multiple opportunities that his opponent gave him to counter his aggressive attacks. It was “the Crook against the Old Man”, and the Crook won.
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What does this mean for America and the world? Trump took a huge step forward to be elected in 2024. Even before the debate, the latest polls showed Trump ahead of Biden in the most important swing states, where the American elections will be decided. After his debate performance, the likelihood of Trump beating Biden in November becomes overwhelming.
Like many people who prefer Biden to Trump, I hoped that this debate would be Biden’s opportunity to show that he was up to the job.
I didn’t want to admit what my many friends were saying, that Biden walked like an old man, spoke like an old man, lost his sense of being an old man, was clearly too old to run for president again. I wanted Biden to show them that they were wrong, that he still had the strength of the younger Biden that we were used to in the past and that he had confirmed once again in his State of the Union speech in January of this year.
Like many who share my opinion, I was shocked and dismayed by Biden with his incoherent comments, from the beginning to the end of the debate. His performance not only refuted the opinion that he was too old for the position, but, in fact, proved beyond doubt that he was too old, already 81 years old, for a mandate that would take him until he was 86 years old.
In my personal opinion, the conclusion is clear: the Democratic Party has to choose another candidate to run in November.
Will it be too late? Of course not. The official selection only intervenes during the National Convention of the Democratic Party, from August 19 to 22, in Chicago.
Are there other good candidates? Many.
So, what has to happen for the Democratic Party candidate to be someone other than Biden? Biden must agree not to run, thus freeing the delegates who supported him during the primaries to vote for other candidates.
Biden’s main argument to justify his re-candidacy was the fact that he was the person most capable of defeating Trump. If the polls swing even further in Trump’s favor, which seems likely, will Biden continue to believe that? Will his team just admit that he had a bad night, that he can still beat Trump based on his success as President? I hope not. I hope that Biden shows some wisdom and quickly decides not to run to give the Democratic Party time to select and prepare a new candidate for President (and Vice President).
The US elections take place on November 5, 2024. A new Democratic candidate chosen by the Convention at the end of August would have all of September and October to take advantage of the fact that 63% of Americans have a unfavorable view of Trump, to build with Biden’s support on the success of his Administration, continuing the many policies of the Democratic Party that the majority of Americans approve of.
Biden has been an excellent President, passing landmark bipartisan legislation that his predecessors were unable to achieve, but, regrettably, the fact that he was a good President does not make him a good candidate. There is some credibility to the oft-shared joke, “the Democratic Party chose in Biden the only candidate Trump is capable of beating.”
If, as I hope, he realizes that it is in the best interests of the country to give up his seat to a younger candidate, then this debate, initially seen as a disaster for the Democrats, will prove to have been the best thing that could have happened. happened, for the Democratic Party, for America and for the world.
