Washington Post editorial board weighs in on Biden stepping down: ‘In denial’

The left-leaning Washington Post editorial board released an op-ed titled “Biden remains in denial. He needs to come to grips with reality” on Friday, further reinforcing their position that President Joe Biden should step down.

They said Biden is “oblivious to political furor surrounding him and in denial about his frailty, personally and politically” as they cited examples from Thursday in which Biden called Vice President Kamala Harris “Vice President Trump” and introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as “President Putin.”

“The president and his team argue that everyone should focus on his record of accomplishment and brightening news on both the foreign and domestic fronts: easing inflation, plummeting border crossings and reports that a Gaza cease-fire agreement is within reach,” the board wrote. “They have a point. Yet the terrible irony is that the best way to ensure that a GOP victory does not undo this progress might be to hand the reins to a successor more capable of making the case than the president himself.”

Almost 20 House Democrats have called for Biden to step aside in his bid for reelection this week, with a flurry of statements coming out after the make-or-break news conference Biden held when the NATO summit concluded Thursday. While many viewers said the content of the conference was acceptable, the multiple verbal gaffes he made the day of overshadowed any goodwill he could’ve gained from it.

The Washington Post editorial board cites a poll that says 85% of the country thinks Biden is too old to be president among several other polls that show Biden’s future could be uncertain. They do agree with some of Biden’s defenders in pointing out that Trump’s shortcomings deserve more attention.

“We’ve made that point many times and will continue to do so,” they wrote.

The board then expresses frustration with the lack of a strong Democratic nominee, citing former Rep. Tim Ryan’s quote “The voters will not believe us about Jan. 6 if we don’t tell the truth about June 27” to reinforce their point.

The board appeared exasperated toward the lack of transparency from the Biden administration on the president’s condition and lamented Biden’s narrow path to victory as Trump appears “to prefer to face Mr. Biden than a fresher face.”

“Mr. Biden has a distressingly narrow path to victory that requires winning Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, plus the single electoral vote from the congressional district that includes Omaha. This would be a challenge for even the best politicians at their peak…We suspect Democratic fortunes would improve with a new national ticket,” they wrote.

The Washington Post editorial board finished their op-ed on a decisive, defiant note:

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

“Mr. Biden said on Thursday he’s ‘not in this for my legacy.’ Well and good. What, then, is he in it for? The only right answer is the good of the country. And those with influence and access to the president need to explain forcefully and candidly what that calls for now.”

The editorial board for the Washington Post endorsed Biden in 2020, calling him “deeply empathetic” in contrast to “Mr. Trump’s narcissism.” The newspaper has never endorsed a Republican for president since it started endorsing candidates in 1976.