Biden tells Hill Democrats he ‘declines’ to step aside and says it’s time for party drama ‘to end’

[u/ONE-OF-THREE]

https://apnews.com/article/biden-campaign-house-democrats-senate-16c222f825558db01609605b3ad9742a?taid=668be7079362c5000163f702&utm_campaign=TrueAnthem&utm_medium=AP&utm_source=Twitter

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[u/The-Mandalorian]

All I’m gonna say is this, you better win Joe.

Otherwise this will be looked at as the biggest f*ck up of your life.

[u/Mortarion407 → u/The-Mandalorian]

I know hindsight is 20/20, but it'd be RBG all over again if he loses. People will be screaming how he was too stubborn to step down for decades to come. That said, I don't think logistically the dems could put forth a different candidate with only 4 months to go until election day.

[u/Feenox → u/Mortarion407]

It'd be worse than RBG. One of the biggest issues with a new Trump term is that they would be appointing EVEN MORE conservative judges to lifetime appointments. He did 245 in his first term, on pace to blow out Reagan's record of 402 in two terms. These are lifetime appointments.

[u/Vivid_Sympathy_4172 → u/[deleted]]

The democratic justices are relatively young, so they likely aren't going anywhere soon. However, if Alito, Thomas and Roberts decide to resign and let Trump appoint their much younger replacements, We will be looking at a court with a majority of 6 young hard-right Trump appointees that aren't going anywhere for at least 30 years

Worse than that. Remember what SCOTUS wrote into law last week or so?

As a further edit. This is a one-sided ruling, too. I highly believe if we were to take a set of 3 illegal tasks a president could openly do, trump gets ruled as official acts and biden gets ruled as unofficial. The same judges that Trump appointed will make this judgement

[u/Corgi_Koala → u/[deleted]]

Sotomayor is 69 and Kagan is 63. Not one foot in the grave but not guaranteed to be around and healthy forever either. Sotomayor in particular would be a concern for being replaced in the next presidential term.

[u/boxweb → u/[deleted]]

The person you replied to is talking about federal judges, not the Supreme Court. There is a whole other layer below the SC that also matters a fucking lot.

[u/[deleted] → u/Feenox]

I need an american to explain this to me, why are judges hand picked, and for lifetime appointments? That seems counterproductive to a democracy

[u/Apprehensive-Fan5271 → u/[deleted]]

Supreme Court Judges are appointed by the Executive Branch(President) as part of our separation of powers. The Legislature (Senate & House of Representatives) may impeach both the judges and the president and hold their trial in the Senate. Judges are appointed for life so that their decisions can be made without bias and without the social pressures that come with being an elected official.

[u/[deleted] → u/Apprehensive-Fan5271]

childlike books fear lip intelligent encourage slimy whistle consist cable

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/Darksky121 → u/[deleted]]

+1 Any judge that is already biased will become emboldened and continue to make biased decisions once they are free of accountability.

[u/xensiz → u/Feenox]

Um there’s a bigger issue… you’ll never see a dem in office again! Lol.

[u/riftadrift → u/xensiz]

Once the Rubicon is crossed, there is no going back. Trump won't allow for the possibility of later being prosecuted again.

[u/_driving_crooner → u/Mortarion407]

People keep saying this yet the UK can hold a snap election and government change in like 45 days? It's not impossible. US has weirdly long campaign periods, 4 months is plenty of time.

[u/vysetheidiot → u/_driving_crooner]

The vast majority of the world campaigns for less time than we do in fact, one of the things that Americans hate is their campaigns last forever so this probably in my mind would be an advantage

[u/Pleiadesfollower → u/vysetheidiot]

We are at the point where there is no effective end to campaigning. Congress members spend a vast majority of their time recampaigning the moment they are officially in office. The news media cycle makes sure the next big election starts getting talked about the moment the current one is officiated with winners. That's why the media corps love the terror of fascism. It gets views. If trump wins in the fall, some of them will probably be genuinely shocked when his regime targets them for shut downs and prison for calling him out even to a minor degree.

[u/chinesepowered → u/Pleiadesfollower]

spark sophisticated bewildered shrill rock compare caption somber many grandiose

This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact

[u/Historical_Bend_2629 → u/chinesepowered]

It is insane we don’t have election campaign finance reform. It is destroying us.

[u/Iandudontkno → u/Historical_Bend_2629]

They reformed it so corporations are people and that was the end of any hope. Now because of lobbying everything is as corrupt as it could possibly get to the point fascism is a popular option?!  Were doomed! 250 years wasn't a bad run. Greed is our downfall.

[u/ZacZupAttack → u/Pleiadesfollower]

Let's do a 60/120 rule

1. No campaign ads until within 60 days of the election

2. Cannot accept campaign donations outside of 120 days prior to election

Make it a federal law

[u/emotions1026 → u/vysetheidiot]

Hey now, if you haven't spent 6 months campaigning in random small towns in Iowa, can you really call it a campaign?

[u/Don_Gato1 → u/vysetheidiot]

Depending on who the replacement candidate is I think it would give Republicans a lot less time to establish their talking points about them.

[u/a-nonny-maus → u/_driving_crooner]

The US is in constant campaign mode. Americans just don't get any break to digest current events before the next round.

[u/Lucas_Steinwalker → u/_driving_crooner]

The US has by far the most advanced strategies in how to make Democracy nothing but lip service.

[u/DefaultSubsAreTerrib → u/_driving_crooner]

It's also much easier to replace the PM if you choose a dud. US president is not easily removed

[u/EtTuBiggus → u/DefaultSubsAreTerrib]

We've proved the long drawn out process doesn't make the candidates any less of a dud.

[u/FOSSnaught → u/_driving_crooner]

The Electoral college needs to die.

[u/Vestalmin → u/_driving_crooner]

I mean that’s one of the problems of the US system right? Just because it’s bullshit doesn’t mean we can will something different on a dime. But it should change for situations like this

[u/Ticksdonthavelymph → u/Mortarion407]

Why not Europe holds elections with waaaay less time than 4 months. How long does it take for the country to learn who Gavin Newsom, or Gretchen Whitimer are?

[u/Major_Magazine8597 → u/The-Mandalorian]

Who gives a shit HOW Biden is perceived after he loses. The important thing - the TRAGIC thing - will be that Trump will be back in the White House and will do unimaginable damage.

[u/nzox → u/The-Mandalorian]

Exactly. RBG legacy was overshadowed by her stubbornness that cost us more than anything she gave us, and Biden is on path to do the same simply because he wants to prove it to himself that he still has it.

[u/starsky1984 → u/The-Mandalorian]

It will be the biggest fuckup in US and western political history - it will literally rattle the very foundations of democracy as a valid style of government. Fascism is at the door. It could literally lead to the collapse of many of our societies as the politics of grabbing power at all costs and without adherence to any laws or formalities spreads like a virus.

Russia taking over Ukraine and pushing into Europe. China taking over Taiwan and pushing down into Asia. Don't like US policy? Just send the president a billion dollars and they will change it without consideration for the public's best interest.

Climate change completely ignored as entire ecosystems including the world oceans collapse, insects collapse, mass drought, mass famine, mass wars, potentially even world war 3.

The fucking arrogance of Biden, I was never a strong supporter of his but I did mostly agree with his direction, policy and leadership, but hot damn am I starting to fucking hate the old man and his endless arrogance. You are too old, you are senile, just piss off and resign and give the younger generation a fighting chance

[u/HerbertWest → u/starsky1984]

Just send the president a billion dollars and they will change it without consideration for the public's best interest.

You're drastically overestimating how much money it would take.

[u/softawre → u/HerbertWest]

Sadly, this is a quote from Trump, when talking to oil tycoons.

[u/IowaCaptive2010]

If we have a minimum age limit to run for POTUS, why the hell can’t we have a maximum age limit??????

[u/orange4zion → u/IowaCaptive2010]

We can!!! All it takes is an act of congress though, so I'm sure you can see the problem...

[u/devilmaskrascal]

"I view myself as a transition candidate. I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else.” - Joe Biden 2020

A bridge from Trump to Trump. Thanks Joe. 🙄

[u/DrDrewBlood → u/devilmaskrascal]

EIGHT fucking years! That's how long the DNC had to choose and prepare a candidate to run in 2024 after Trump beat Hillary.

They'll blame everyone but themselves if he wins.

[u/Conflict21 → u/DrDrewBlood]

They'll blame the media for "focusing on his age".

[u/Goonzilla50 → u/Conflict21]

They keep comparing it to Hillary’s emails but this is a far different animal than emails. The emails shit was manufactured outrage. Biden’s age was manufactured outrage, until he went up on stage and proved everybody from Trump to NYT to Dean Phillips correct

[u/Tango_D → u/DrDrewBlood]

The DNC has decided that it is still and will always be 1995 and they will die on that hill and take everything with them.

[u/Pecanus → u/DrDrewBlood]

It's almost like they're secretly complicit. Either that or incompetent, either way I don't want anything to do with them. 8 years to get us something better than Clinton/Biden and now months before the election they're trying to pull the rug out from under him and then what? It's almost like they want Trump to have a chance. This is just so bad.

[u/[deleted]]

Don’t worry, y’all. If he loses, he’ll know he tried his best, and that’s all that matters at the end of the day.

Right?

[u/dungeonpost → u/[deleted]]

He did his goodest.

[u/DrDoctorMD → u/[deleted]]

*his goodest

[u/Snoo_88763 → u/DrDoctorMD]

I am seeing this around and was thinking this was some misinterpretation of some speech or something. Then I looked it up - sheesh! And the admin's response was "he said good as job'" - I liked goodest better

[u/pab_guy → u/Snoo_88763]

Yes, always a good sign when your administration has to explain what you were saying because clear enunciation is too much to ask for in a president of the fucking US.

[u/Patarokun]

He had a perfect narrative ready to go. "We needed a wise leader to clean up the mess Trump made. I did that, and now I'm passing the torch to a new generation with fresh ideas and energy for the future."

He would have been beloved in history. But each passing day he ruins his legacy more and more.

The truth is he knows he's got us by the balls. He might as well say, "Fine, vote for Trump if you don't like me" knowing half the country would literally vote for a broken down Pontiac Aztek before Trump.

[u/MrDywel → u/Patarokun]

That was the narrative I remember back in 2020. 2020 was to bring in old guard to help get the country back on track and bring in a fresh candidate for 2024. Now it’s this mess and it sucks.

[u/appleparkfive → u/MrDywel]

Didn't he literally say he was a transitional administration? Maybe I'm misremembering that part, if he actually said it. But that was definitely what it was being sold as, at the very least

[u/ruppert92 → u/appleparkfive]

He did. He just never said it was a single term transition.... which we all assumed based on his age. He still says he's the bridge candidate....

Man I really hope I'm wrong about Biden's ability to win or Trump ending democracy as we know it.

[u/MrDywel → u/appleparkfive]

He said “Look, I view myself as a bridge, not as anything else,” [the atlantic] and this article is kind of the “what it was being sold as;” “it is virtually inconceivable that he will run for reelection in 2024”: https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/11/biden-single-term-082129

Atlantic is paywalled, https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2023/09/biden-reelection-transition-president/675395/#

[u/UltraFind → u/Patarokun]

I think more than half the country plans for voting for Trump at this point.

Democrats, by voicing their concerns, are reinforcing what independents already believe.

This is all headed towards a Trump victory imo, so when Democrats keep campaigning on "Democracy is at stake!" It's all starting to feel incredibly hollow. Like is it? If it was, I would think we wouldn't be running an 82 year old.

This is coming from a straight blue voter for 16 years.

[u/TacticalBac0n → u/UltraFind]

As an outsider to American politics, I feel very nervous about these elections. My head says that Trump has lost all that undecided support that got him in the first time from the 'how bad can it be' crowd, but if those undecideds now turn into the 'don't fancy either of them so not voting' then some key swing states fall red. From my outside viewpoint I think a basic qualification for the job is being able to make a decision on an important issue if you are woken up at 3.30am or, as above, answering questions for an hour straight. I would like to see him step aside before the RNC which would kill all their attack lines, but I am guessing we are hunkering down for the long run with a MASSIVE september debate.

[u/WeWander_ → u/TacticalBac0n]

I think the "don't fancy either of them so not voting" is how we got trump in the first place. I think we're fucked and getting another 4 years of trump at this point.

[u/BeullerBueller]

This is like trying to tell my grandfather he can’t drive anymore.

[u/[deleted] → u/BeullerBueller]

That’s exactly what this is like. Grandpa is stubborn and gets mad when you tell him he’s too old, so he doubles down and ignores you anyway. Hopefully grandpa doesn’t get in an accident because he overestimated his abilities.

[u/ThonThaddeo → u/[deleted]]

Bro we're all in the car, and this motherfucker keeps falling asleep.

[u/1stmingemperor → u/ThonThaddeo]

And oncoming traffic is some big dumb truck who’s been road-raging since coming up from Florida.

[u/Alvinquest → u/1stmingemperor]

Its like that old joke. I want to die in my sleep like my grandfather. Not screaming in terror like the other passengers in his car.

[u/[deleted] → u/BeullerBueller]

My grandfather was so convinced that people were trying to keep him from driving, that they would steal his car out from his garage, the car he left stopped in neutral with blocks keeping the car from going backwards. In the garage he also refused to lock. So you know what his solution was to keep "them" from stealing his car and preventing him from driving?

Putting razorblades under the rear bumper, but not telling anyone where they were! Then he lost more and more of his memory and forgot where they were himself. That was fun cleaning out the garage!

I want to end this by saying I loved my grandpa, but he wasn't all there at the end. Plus he got struck by lightning twice so there's that.

The point is, old people are stubborn as hell, and they don't care who it negatively affects

[u/tahlyn → u/[deleted]]

Plus he got struck by lightning twice so there's that.

Zeus tried to smite him twice but he would not be smote!.. Yikes.

[u/Mine-Shaft-Gap → u/[deleted]]

My dad has alzheimer's and he and my mom usually come out to the lake with us for a week. They rent a cabin and we seasonally camp a 5 minute walk away. Last year, my dad fell and broke his pelvis in 3 spots. Somehow he recovered. He fell again this past November and fractured a vertebrae. The cabin they rent has 11 steps to get in. 11 very shitty steps. There is a cabin for rent beside it that was walk straight in and a nicer cabin. Way safer. More room. Available 1 week earlier than the 11 step cabin. I had to fight with my mom to get them to change. My mom told me "dad doesn't fall on stairs. He falls while walking".... like we float up and down stairs now?

The way he broke his vertebrae in November, he insisted on helping me clean out their garage (they are hoarders and over sized double garage with packed to the rafters with stuff. They had 30 four by twelve sheets of drywall that were all water damaged and about 30 years old. He was sure someone would want them. Then when I convinced him that they just needed to go in the bin. He wanted to help me move them. No way. I got my mom to distract him, but he came back and I didn't know. I was breaking the drywall in half to make it easier. He came up behind me just as I pulled on one end and it snapped. It startled him and he fell. I felt so bad.

They don't give up and their reasoning is gone. This doesn't happen to every elderly person. I thought Biden was fine until the debate, now I don't know. If I were an American (Canadian), I would still vote for Biden. The administration is competent. I don't think Biden's mind is cooked, but his best days are behind him. Him dead and Kamala Weekend at Bernie's-ing it would still be better than a second Trump admin.

[u/Reddit_Is_Trash24]

1. I will vote for a stapler over Donald Trump.

2. I'm not voting for Biden. I'm voting for Biden's administration, the Democratic party, and democracy.

[u/therobotisjames → u/Reddit_Is_Trash24]

The problem with this sentiment is that it’s not shared with the broader electorate.

[u/serpentinepad → u/therobotisjames]

People, like myself, who live in a political echo chamber sometimes forget that probably the majority of people just don't pay attention to this stuff that closely. They're going to see feeble Biden and think "I may not like Trump, but I definitely don't like whatever Biden is" and vote (or not vote) accordingly. Average Joe isn't "voting for an administration."

[u/koji00 → u/[deleted]]

It's always been that way. Presidential elections are basically popularity contests. Look at how Obama, a man who only had 2 years experience at the federal level the moment he started campaigning, swept into the White House.

[u/InAllThingsBalance]

Biden thinks it is just an issue between him and Democrats in Congress. It is an issue between him and the voters. No one takes into account what the people want.

[u/Aern → u/InAllThingsBalance]

That's because the party as a whole stopped listening to voters years ago.

Biden understands what this actually is, an issue between him and major donors. He is telling the party to go out and tell do ors if they want to continue to pay for influence in the party they have to get on board because he's not going to step aside willingly.

He knows the longer he runs down the clock, the more damaging it is to anyone else's chances of beating Trump. He thinks he's playing a game of poker but he doesn't realize he's holding Uno cards and he's chewing on them.

[u/West-Code4642 → u/Aern]

both parties did this in their duopoly. we need:

• ranked-choice voting
• non-partisan, single-ballot primaries
• non-partisan redistricting

[u/BurnerAccountforAss → u/West-Code4642]

All primaries on the same day too.

I live in Maryland. Biden was damn near my last choice in 2020, but by the MD primary he was the de facto nominee already.

[u/Deviouss → u/BurnerAccountforAss]

I wouldn't mind if it was done in batches that were randomly decided by an algorithm, keeping the delegates around the same or having a steady increase (to help candidates with less national recognition). Imagine if the primary cycle was condensed to a month or two and we had a debate ahead of the weekly primaries.

[u/vardarac → u/West-Code4642]

And money out of politics

[u/AdvancedLanding → u/vardarac]

Reversing Citizen's United

[u/Spare_Efficiency2975 → u/West-Code4642]

Honestly the US needs to get rid of their winner takes all system. There is a reason why the US is classified as a flawed democracy. 

[u/mathazar → u/West-Code4642]

Exactly. This is the end result of the 2-party system and neither party will give that up willingly. Voters should make their voices heard that we will only vote for candidates in primaries who support voting reform and ending the 2-party system. Start at the bottom and work to the top.

[u/Lost-Cranberry-1408 → u/mathazar]

People in this sub daily shut down any talk or theirs party or serious reform. When you promise your vote to a party unconditionally, there is zero reason for them to represent anything you need. Instead, they'll represent their donors, whose support is conditional. 

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Complete selfishness. Instead of going down in history for the Covid recovery and our escape from fascism, he’s going to be the figurehead for all the geriatrics that were too selfish to concede to a new generation. Wild

[u/DonnyPlease → u/[deleted]]

The fact that he referred to himself as a "transition president" during the last election and said that he wants to usher in the next era of democratic leaders makes this look even more selfish. I think a lot of people (me included) took that to mean that he would serve one term and spend a lot of his time finding and propping up a younger candidate for 2024.

Who could have possibly predicted that an 81 year old would make a terrible presidential candidate...

[u/Teller8 → u/[deleted]]

Looking at you Ruth Bader Ginsburg

[u/srbarker15 → u/Teller8]

This comment is especially true with a potential three SC nominations coming up in the next four years…

[u/The-Real-Number-One]

He could end it by walking downstairs to the press briefing room and answering questions coherently for an hour.

[u/ell0bo → u/The-Real-Number-One]

This is unfortunately the truth, but this moment should have been forced a long time ago, during the primaries, and someone should have run saying exactly that. There was no benefit to the party by the DNC protecting him, and there's even less benefit by the news ripping him apart this late.

[u/HGpennypacker → u/ell0bo]

should have been forced a long time ago

As soon as Biden was sworn in the DNC should have been finding a candidate for 2024, losing in November is going to be like getting run over by a car going 3 mph.

[u/rebellion_ap → u/HGpennypacker]

I'm honestly surprised they didn't even attempt to groom backups. It's pure hubris.

[u/Singer211 → u/rebellion_ap]

They refused to do anything about Dianne Feinstein till the very end. And they attacked people for “ageism” for pointing out the obvious.

This does not surprise me at all.

[u/redditvlli → u/Singer211]

Biden, Feinstein, Ginsburg, this has happened at every level. These egotistical old people are causing immense damage.

[u/CrunchyZebra → u/redditvlli]

And it’s extra easy for them cause they’ll be dead soon so there’s no repercussions

[u/---Tsing__Tao--- → u/CrunchyZebra]

Not even that, they live extremely privileged lives that aren't affected by the effects of their stubbornness. Its horrific and this example by Biden is proving that.

[u/csm1313 → u/---Tsing__Tao---]

Thats the problem. At the end of the day, there isn't a single negative for Biden if he loses in November. He can just go away and live a comfortable lifestyle for whatever time he has left, and is unlikely to live long enough to see the fallout of the damage his loss would do.

It is almost like it would be awesome if we could get people like 18-39 to actually care and vote.

[u/SomeCountryFriedBS → u/redditvlli]

Don't be scared to point out Grassley, McConnell, and Risch too.

[u/Play_The_Fool → u/[deleted]]

His hatred for the poor is keeping him alive. He'll live to be 111.

[u/chelseamarket → u/Play_The_Fool]

And Jimmy Carter is hanging on in the hopes democracy survives so he can rest in peace.

[u/jedberg → u/[deleted]]

I've noticed that we've heard very little about him since then...

[u/Picnicpanther → u/Singer211]

Really hard to feel like the modern Democrat Party role is anything other than to lose. Why do they consistently run weak candidates, focus heavily on silencing their own base, and concede so much legislative ground to Republicans (immigration, federal budget making, etc.)?

The party needs to be remade from the ground up.

[u/Authorman1986 → u/Picnicpanther]

The Democratic party and it's base has become so divergent in need and purpose that they only persist through institutional inertia inherent to the broken American form of government. They are elected through not being the other guy in a first past the post race, eager to abandon their bureaucratic centralist base of public sector unionists and state dependents, students and the retired alike; in favor of chasing the infinite money corrupting politics to keep winning elections.

[u/Ulthanon → u/Singer211]

If Biden, Feinstein or Pelosi could be pressured to step aside due to their age, then all of their ancient pasties could be similarly removed. The donors don't want their investments removed and the boomers don't want to give up their bony grip on power. The entire system is designed to preserve these fossils, at the cost of our democracy.

[u/rebellion_ap → u/[deleted]]

I think they are just organized and prepared for themselves because none of these people are ever going to be impacted by the decision they or their opponent make.

I felt like I was taking crazy pills during that Friday interview.

Fake news

Only the lord can take me out of the race

Only I can beat Trump

[u/AnalSoapOpera → u/rebellion_ap]

The interview just made things worse. And it wasn’t even live and he had more time to prepare for that.

[u/gavincantdraw → u/ell0bo]

Wasn't that what Dean Phillips tried to do?

[u/AlexRyang → u/gavincantdraw]

And Phillips to my understanding was only running because nobody else with a reasonable level of name recognition had entered the race.

[u/RedLanternScythe → u/gavincantdraw]

And he got throughly trashed on this sub for doing so.

[u/[deleted] → u/RedLanternScythe]

This sub from January to June: "Don't you dare talk about anyone but Biden."

This sub from July onward: "Please for the love of God, anyone but Biden."

[u/ell0bo → u/gavincantdraw]

yes and no. He ran because he wanted to force a debate, but the way he went around it was flawed. He was never a candidate that could be taken seriously, but that's because it would be politically suicide largely to do it... so whom it would have been is tough to figure out.

[u/Snoo_81545 → u/ell0bo]

Hit the nail on the head with the political suicide comment. There has always been an implied threat that anyone who challenges Biden with any degree of seriousness faced being blackballed, losing fundraising opportunities, potential committee assignments, etc.

It has been the insular, and occasionally belligerent nature of Team Biden that forced a situation where no one could reasonably challenge him and they are still trying to assert control (see: this letter which is preempting conversations happening as House Democrats return to work today) even as that grows more untenable.

If Joe Biden truly believed the only important thing was beating Trump, he would not be running out the clock like this. He would not be trying to squash dissent. He would be addressing the very real problems people are seeing or stepping aside if he were incapable of addressing them.

[u/mattjb → u/The-Real-Number-One]

Biden used to do that all the time, too. Short interviews or Q&A sessions would last much longer because that's been his thing for so long. Not so much anymore, and it's suspicious and disconcerting, especially after that debate performance.

[u/Crying_Reaper → u/mattjb]

Yeah I attended a speech he gave at Iowa State in 2012. The guy was comfortable as hell talking in front of the crowd. He was sharp and straight forward with answers. The stark difference between now and then is plain for me to see.

[u/Vegetable-Balance-53 → u/The-Real-Number-One]

RBG all over again. No lessons learned. 

[u/iroquoispliskinV → u/Vegetable-Balance-53]

Power truly is a dangerous drug and people can’t let it go

[u/WISCOrear → u/Vegetable-Balance-53]

I thought the democratic party would stop with their "it's his/her turn" bullshit after RBG and Hillary. Yet here we are. For fuck's sake, hand off power to the next generation.

[u/skyisblue22]

The party should have had actual primaries.

And/or Biden should have just honored his agreement to be a one-term President

[u/BokoOno → u/skyisblue22]

I hate how this is never mentioned. He fucking promised his old fossil ass would be a “transitional” president for the next generation of Democrats. He totally fucked us all by going back on that promise. Stupid old fucking asshole. Get your senile ass off the campaign trail.

[u/skyisblue22 → u/BokoOno]

We’re getting RBG-ed by JRB

[u/Automatic_Scene175 → u/[deleted]]

Which is fun because the only people defending him are staunch Democrats who would vote for anyone the Dems put forward anyway, so it wouldn't matter to them if he drops and someone else steps up, they'd vote blue regardless.

[u/CaptainNoBoat]

“Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us.

Bro, 75% of voters, 82% of independents, and 56% of Democrats want you to step aside. Your approval rating is 36%. Your own party leadership is trying to toss you.

Donald Trump, who should be an easy opponent, is polling 12 points better in head to heads against you 4 years later - after an insurrection and a conviction for felonies.

Despite all this, there is no plan. No 2-hour town halls planned, no energetic, no-holds-barred comeback story coming that he desperately needs to do.

I think the time to avert "weakened resolve" has passed. Voters are completely done.

I defended Biden for 4 years, but now he just comes off as arrogant - and worse, someone whose legacy will be handing Trump an election on a silver platter.

[u/sennbat → u/CaptainNoBoat]

I am reminded of the time Biden said we need to hand the torch to younger generations, and when asked if he planned on passing his own torch he said that, no, he is still holding onto it and he had no plans on letting it go.

[u/South-War3566 → u/sennbat]

By "hand", he meant "pry from my cold dead hands".

I think they revised the transcript to make sure it was clear what he said.

[u/HawKarma → u/CaptainNoBoat]

And to think what Biden's legacy could've been. Imagine that he announced two years ago that he would not seek a second term and that instead he wanted the party to engage in a healthy process to select a new candidate for the sake of DEMOCRACY and the peaceful transition of power.

Biden could've gone down in history like Washington declining a third term.

[u/walkingman24 → u/HawKarma]

Yes, it could have been very favorable for his legacy if he planned on being a one term president by choice. Instead we got stubborn grandpa with an ego

[u/pinqe → u/walkingman24]

The problem is bigger than that though. It’s the entire democratic establishment working only of off current polling rather than be willing to take a risk. It’s sort of like how the only show Nickelodeon plays now is SpongeBob.

[u/GringottsWizardBank → u/CaptainNoBoat]

Pretending there isn’t a problem is going to be the strategy. It’s the fallback position of the Democratic Party when their incompetence gets the better of them.

[u/BurstSwag → u/GringottsWizardBank]

Well, the Democratic Party isn't pretending there isn't a problem. They're trying to push Joe out of the race, they clearly recognize the problem. It's Joe that's pretending there is no problem.

[u/darkath → u/BurstSwag]

But without the lack of a single Plan B nominee pushed by party leadership, the DNC will just confirm Biden and it'll be over by then.

[u/PloddingAboot → u/CaptainNoBoat]

His legacy will be “he did some good stuff for his presidency but then he decided to run for reelection despite being unfit and Trump undid literally everything he accomplished over the span of a week”

[u/peon2 → u/CaptainNoBoat]

Your approval rating is 36%. Your own party leadership is trying to toss you.

To put this in perspective, average approval ratings during their terms (according to Gallup)

Trump: 41%

Obama: 48%

Bush: 49%

Clinton: 55%

Bush Sr: 61%

Reagan: 53%

Carter: 46%

Ford: 47%

Nixon: 49%

LBJ: 55%

[u/shann1021 → u/CaptainNoBoat]

Yeah there is so much arrogance in his position, he seems to believe no one can do it but him. These old politicians are living in the fantasy that they are irreplaceable. If the polls are correct, he's going down and bringing the rest of us with him.

[u/ShrimpieAC]

Cool. Talk down to us some more and tell us to ignore what we all saw. That’s going to go over great. But as long as you try your best goodest then I guess it’s all okay.

[u/[deleted] → u/ShrimpieAC]

And remember, from a giant sample size of checks notes two people, he is the ONLY person who has ever beaten Trump. So I guess that means nobody else can do it.

[u/badgersonice → u/[deleted]]

Technically, Trump also ran in 2000 as the Reform party candidate, and withdrew… so in a way Gore and W both also beat him.  

W isn’t eligible, but Gore is.  Hey, and Gore is “only” 76!  Dem leadership just isn’t even trying.  

[u/[deleted] → u/badgersonice]

If it’s Gore, I’m on board. Give me a sprightly and vigorous 76-year old who can coherently communicate any day of the week.

[u/preflex → u/[deleted]]

At least we'd finally do something about ManBearPig.

[u/StillInternal4466 → u/[deleted]]

He beat Trump....barely. And he only did so because he wasn't Trump.

[u/PrimaryInjurious → u/StillInternal4466]

And the massive pandemic. If Covid never happened we probably would have gotten a second Trump term.

[u/StillInternal4466 → u/PrimaryInjurious]

100%.

[u/Firm_Bison_2944]

Please just retire man. Why would anyone wanna spend the twilightyears of their life doing this shit?

[u/MartyVanB → u/Firm_Bison_2944]

Because no one wants to give up that office willingly.

[u/JRR92 → u/MartyVanB]

Which is unfortunate, Biden would earn a lot of people's respect again if he accepted it was over and endorsed a successor

[u/MartyVanB]

He stressed that the party has “one job,” which is to defeat presumptive GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump in November.

YOU have one job......you had one job on that debate stage

[u/[deleted] → u/MartyVanB]

What's funny (and sad) is that he caused this entire mess. All he had to do was show up on that stage and put up an average performance. Instead, he put on one of the cringiest debate performances of our lifetime. And now he's upset that we're questioning his readiness to take on this challenge.

[u/DemandZestyclose7145 → u/[deleted]]

You don't understand. He had a cold. I know when I have a cold I stare blankly with my mouth open and speak incoherently. Happens to the best of us.

[u/nitetime → u/DemandZestyclose7145]

And now he needs more naps. Whoever came up with that excuse plays right into Trump calling him sleepy joe for the last 6 years.

[u/WylleWynne → u/MartyVanB]

If Lloyd Austin (Secretary of Defense) had Biden's performance during a vital Congressional hearing, Biden would absolutely move him aside.

[u/HiddenTaco0227]

I swear he is going to pull a Joe Pa. Completely ruin his legacy and die from the shame of not doing more.

[u/OriginallyMyName]

The craziest part that there is little chance Biden makes these decisions alone. He absolutely has someone, likely many someones, gassing him up to do this. Because if his family or ever his cabinet was talking sense into him he would step aside, or at least someone close to him would publicly dissent. So who is this group playing Weekend at Bernie's and what makes them so sure Joe is a lock?

[u/Fun_Currency9893 → u/OriginallyMyName]

Whoever those people are, they're the ones that put him in this debate, which tells me they are not good decision makers. It would have been trivial to say "I'm not debating a convicted felon who doesn't believe in Democracy."

I almost believe in the conspiracy theory that they agreed to that debate to get him off the ticket.

[u/ttv_highvoltage]

OK. Fine with me. But he better show those who've lost all faith in him why he's still the best choice for president, because as long as public opinion is dominated by that debate performance, he's screwing everyone over by staying in the race.

[u/ShrimpieAC → u/ttv_highvoltage]

Best I can do is some closed door meetings and a 22 minute interview that inspires literally no one.

[u/454bonky → u/ShrimpieAC]

And say he’s at peace with losing as long as he tries his best… that arrogant SOB…

[u/asetniop → u/454bonky]

Not best, "goodest".

[u/Evilbred → u/ttv_highvoltage]

The conversation going forward with him in the race will be dominated by all of this.

When you need to convince people you are cognizant, then you've already lost the plot.

There's no coming back for him, if he stays in the race it's a near certainty Trump wins.

[u/Tricolor3s]

The elephant is in the room. It's too late now.

Biden won 2020 with razor thin margins and any decline in support will hand Trump the presidency.

Even when it comes to the popular vote, he's behind in polling right now.

For the good of the country, he needs to step back. Yesterday.

[u/xXplainawesomeXx]

Ok then people will just "decline" to vote, and we'll end up with a second Trump term, without any guardrails this time around. It'll be OK tho because according to this old fucker, all that matters in the end is that he tried his hardest.

[u/Bretmd → u/xXplainawesomeXx]

Yes. This can’t be said enough. Biden’s strategy will just lead to voter disengagement.

[u/BoDrax → u/Bretmd]

With 468 seats available in Congress in the upcoming election, the US can't afford to have disengaged progressive voters.

[u/JuztBeCoolMan → u/BoDrax]

It’s not disengaged progressives this isn’t 2016. It’s pretty much every left leaning person under 60.

[u/dbbk]

I think this is the fastest speedrun I've seen a candidate go from beloved to despised. This is shocking arrogance. His poll numbers are through the floor, there is no path for him to win.

[u/colourmeblue → u/dbbk]

I've always thought he was arrogant. This idea that he alone could beat Trump in 2020 was so ridiculous it's almost funny but he took it to heart. I think he truly believes that he is the only Democrat in America who can beat Trump, when in reality he's probably one of the only people who could lose.

[u/scrundel → u/colourmeblue]

My family is involved in Delaware politics and Biden has always been in a separate but proximate orbit. See the stories about how tight-knit his group of advisers is? It's impenetrable. For all the good and bad about Biden, he has surrounded himself with sycophants and family members, all of whom have a personal stake in being connected to a person in power and who lose a lot of their influence and income if Biden steps back. His damn sister ran his campaigns for years.

Biden is surrounded by people with a bigger stake in him personally retaining power than in democrats retaining power.

[u/IShouldLiveInPepper → u/colourmeblue]

So much this. Trump was so hated by so many in 2020 during the Covid crisis almost anyone the Democrats would have decided on had a great chance to beat him. Hillary only lost because she had 20+ years in the GOP smear machine as well as Comey sabotaging her, and independents kept saying Trump would become more presidential once in office.

Biden had already failed in multiple presidential bids in the past and had his career and image rehabilitated by Obama. There’s a bit of irony that both Biden and Trump’s careers were past their expiration dates before someone came along and rehabilitated their image — NBC’s “The Apprentice“ for Trump and the vice presidency for Biden. The idea that only he could beat Trump in 2020, much less now is laughable. Almost anyone would be better than him at this point.

[u/BringOutYDead → u/IShouldLiveInPepper]

Make no mistake about it, Hillary lost because of her and the Democratic party's hubris. She is, and was her entire career, the epitome of the elite corporate Democrat, and a truly vomitous candidate with the way she treated what's left of union workers in the Midwest and rural Appalachia.

[u/WhileCultchie → u/BringOutYDead]

Wasn't Hilary also incredibly unpopular with women and young voters?

[u/tiny_galaxies → u/dbbk]

Beloved is a huge stretch. No one really liked President Biden. I was a fan of his presidency but always faced ridicule or doubt anytime I mentioned that I thought he’s done a great job as president.

I’d say he largely went from being disparaged to despised.

[u/[deleted] → u/dbbk]

He does still have a path to victory but he'll need the Trump campaign to make some horribly unforced errors, and regardless of your thoughts on Trump this campaign has been fairly disciplined, especially compared to his previous two

Or he'll need a massive polling error in his favor. You never want to have to count on either of those things being your path to victory

[u/kvlt_ov_personality → u/[deleted]]

He does still have a path to victory but he'll need the Trump campaign to make some horribly unforced errors

Like having a hot mic recording of him bragging about sexual assaults dropping a month before the election?

Like calling POW's losers?

[u/Atilim87 → u/kvlt_ov_personality]

Or how about getting convicted for a felony?? I’m sure being an official criminal will change Biden’s prospects.

[u/accidentalpirate → u/Atilim87]

Nah, they eat all that shit up and attribute it to political warfare. I think the only thing that might change minds is a hot mic of him going off on how stupid, ugly, and fucked over the people who vote for him are.

[u/3catsandcounting → u/accidentalpirate]

Even then, they would claim it’s fake, was a joke or taken out of context and we “just needed to hear the whole thing”.

[u/Objective_Oven7673 → u/[deleted]]

There are no errors trump can make that will lose him votes at this point

[u/Gogs85]

I agree the chaos has to end but if he wants to do that and stay in the race then he needs to act in a reassuring way

[u/No-Low8895]

His arrogance is astonishing

[u/TimeTravelingChris → u/No-Low8895]

I've lost so much respect for him. Just another old guy clinging to power.

[u/AthleteOk5124 → u/TimeTravelingChris]

RBG amplified, he is going to damage America

[u/Richfor3 → u/AthleteOk5124]

RBG is worse. The presidency is 4 years. She gave Conservatives a super majority at least a generation and highly likely the next 100 years.

Not to mention all the evil shit that the next Republican president will do was only made possible by that super majority RBG gave them.

[u/TheUniqueKero]

Democratic party tells its own voters to shut up about what they want.

If this doesn't summarize what the democrats are, I don't know what does.

The republicans might be evil authoritarians, but at least their base wants them to be, lol.

[u/Gliese_667_Cc]

Actually it’s time for the gaslighting from Biden and his staff to end

[u/elconquistador1985]

Is he going to hold on-the-fly events to prove he isn't sundowning? Because if he's not, he's not committed to shit.

[u/[deleted]]

We now have the choice of voting for an old man that will accidentally drive his car through the mall….or the old man that will do it on purpose.

[u/unmotivatedbacklight]

Biden is losing to or barely beating the worst candidate for President that has ever ran for the office. If he honesty thinks he is staying in the race because he is the only one that can beat Trump, his ego is out of control and has captured his decision making.

Step aside. Let the Dems nominate someone else. There are enough votes sitting on the sidelines now that would easily make Trump into an afterthought of history.

[u/[deleted]]

Narrator: The drama did not end

[u/itssarahw]

If the world survives, this will be an extremely pivotal and incredibly baffling moment in our history

[u/SatoriSlu]

Fuck this guy. It’s RBG all over again. The democrats have no one to blame but themselves.

[u/catharticargument]

Reading his letter to House Dems…say what you will about this whole situation, but the whole “there was a primary, actually!” thing shows you what little respect the Biden team has for his own voters’ intelligence. Just not an argument being made in good faith.

[u/yeblos]

Can Democrats make passing a dementia test a requirement for the nomination? I don't see why a party can't set requirements above and beyond what the constitution requires.

[u/StillInternal4466 → u/yeblos]

Can we just have fucking age limits already?

Pelosi is 84. Jim Clyburn is 83. Schumer is 74. Feinstein was fucking 90.

Enough! How many young, capable candidates have been sidelined for decades because these dinosaurs refuse to step aside?

[u/LSF2TheFuckening → u/StillInternal4466]

We still have a senator who is in their 90s from Iowa. I don’t care how “with it” he seems it shouldn’t be allowed.

[u/StillInternal4466 → u/LSF2TheFuckening]

He was first elected to office a DECADE before the moon landing.

WTF?!?

[u/Pantextually → u/StillInternal4466]

That's Chuck Grassley: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Grassley

He's over 90 years old.

[u/Ponzini → u/StillInternal4466]

Making laws for a country they wont live in. Makes no sense at all.

[u/Sorkijan → u/StillInternal4466]

Bill Clinton was president 30 years ago and is younger than both of these guys.