On Sunday, July 21, President Joe Biden announced the end of his reelection bid, becoming the first sitting president since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968 to do so. Johnson’s decision was due to his unpopularity over the Vietnam War. Similarly, Biden’s popularity has plummeted since his June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump, where he struggled to articulate coherent sentences. This decline led Democratic leaders, including former allies, to call for his resignation, and Biden has finally conceded.
This begs the question: If President Biden isn’t fit to run for reelection, what makes him fit to hold the most important and powerful position in the world as president of the United States? The answer is clear as day: He isn’t.
In the past few years, we’ve seen foreign powers roll over the United States, whether it be Russia invading Ukraine, Hamas attacking Israel on October 7, 2023, or Iran launching missiles at Israel on April 13, 2024, despite warnings from Biden to “Don’t” do it. This all stemmed from Biden’s horrific mishandling of pulling American troops out of Afghanistan before clearing out the $7 billion worth of weaponry and American citizens and allies who should have been taken out of the area before removing all the soldiers.
YouTube’s algorithm recently recommended that I watch the vice presidential debate between then-vice presidential nominees Joe Biden and Sarah Palin from 2008. At the debate, Biden was sharp, witty, and an incredible speaker. Watching side-by-sides of Biden speaking over the years, it is clear there has been a sharp decline in his cognitive abilities, reaching rock bottom at the recent June debate. I believe the old Joe Biden would not have mishandled the Afghanistan withdrawal and other foreign policy issues so badly. These issues stem from an old man who can’t think straight being in a position of immense power.
In an attempt to deflect attention from his declining cognitive abilities, poor foreign policy, lack of border control and high inflation, Biden has repeatedly called Trump a “threat to democracy” and a “dictator,” to shift voter focus away from his own shortcomings. This rhetoric nearly led to Trump’s assassination on July 13, when Thomas Matthew Crooks shot at him, narrowly missing his brain.
On Sunday, following Biden’s statement dropping out, the Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, called for Biden to resign, stating, “If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately.” I agree 100%, and I am sure many Americans do as well. The calls for Biden to step down from his position will undoubtedly grow louder. If you agree that he does not have the mental capabilities to run for office, then he should not currently be in office. Any other way you slice it becomes circular logic. If Biden were to resign as president (as I believe he should), then Vice President Kamala Harris would become the sitting president for the remainder of the year.
I’m not the biggest fan of Harris, to say the least. During her 2020 vice presidential debate with then-Vice President Mike Pence, I was unimpressed and felt Pence outperformed her. I wrote about my thoughts on the debate in an article titled “Where Do You Stand, Senator Harris?” in the YU Commentator (https://yucommentator.org/2020/10/where-do-you-stand-senator-harris), where I noted that Harris “avoided answering direct questions, gave answers that contradicted her previous statements, and made comments that put the safety of our country in jeopardy.”
Recently, I watched “Scamala: Kamala Harris Unmasked” on DailyWire+, which explores her political rise through questionable means and manipulative actions as a prosecutor. Her behavior, including a recent speech where she laughed inappropriately during a serious discussion about the attack on Israel, struck me as disrespectful. To her credit, after Biden’s poor debate performance last month, she appeared poised and articulate in an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.
I prefer other Democrats as the nominee, such as Governor Wes Moore, who spoke to my TABC class in 2015, Governor Josh Shapiro, or Senator Cory Booker, whom I met at Yeshiva University’s Wittenberg Wrestling Tournament in 2013. Despite my concerns with Harris, I believe she would perform better than Biden, who has openly admitted he is unfit for reelection.
Following his decision to drop out, Biden endorsed Harris for president. It’s time for Biden to put his money where his mouth is. If he believes Harris would make a great president, he should step down now and let her take over. This would allow Americans to assess her performance and make an informed decision in November while also ensuring we are led by someone with cohesive thoughts during this tenuous period.
