‘Is It Too Late?’ Four Writers on What Democrats Should Do About Biden.

Patrick Healy: I’ve been deluged with texts and emails from senior Democrats in a panic over President Biden’s debate performance and describing scenarios in which he might get out of the race, Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the nominee, or the Democratic National Convention in August becomes an open competition for the nomination. Biden addressed his debate problem briefly at a rally Friday afternoon: “I don’t debate as well as I used to,” he said, “but I know how to tell the truth.” So there are intense but also mixed emotions among Democrats right now. What do they do about their candidate for president, and their campaign to beat Donald Trump? Michelle?

Michelle Goldberg: I think Biden has to get out. As you know, I’ve been arguing since 2022 that he’s too old to run for re-election. But recently, when people have asked me about it, I’ve wondered, is it too late? While it would have been much better if Biden had stepped aside earlier and allowed a normal process for picking a successor, the debate demonstrated that the status quo is untenable. And I think that’s rapidly becoming the consensus not just among panicky pundits, but among senior Democrats.

I was very struck by this statement that Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, gave to an Associated Press reporter Friday morning about Biden: “Until he articulates a way forward in terms of his vision for America at this moment, I’m going to reserve comment about anything relative to where we are at this moment, other than to say I stand behind the ticket.” That is not something you say if you think everyone is overreacting.

Healy: Bret, you had a column back in 2021 with the headline, “Biden Should Not Run Again — and He Should Say He Won’t,” arguing it would not be good for the country to have a president who is 86 at the end of his second term. But the last two years, the Democratic leadership all but buried their heads in the sand over Biden’s age. It’s now three months until early voting for president in September. What should Democrats do?

Bret Stephens: Michelle is right: Biden needs to get out. Now. But Democrats need to ask hard questions of themselves. Why did they ignore, or obfuscate, or deny, the plain evidence of the president’s decline?

Healy: I have wondered the same. Biden is good on a teleprompter, but we now have insight into what he’s like in private conversations and meetings. I realize this is based on just one debate, but Biden seems to have aged significantly in just the last nine months.