Since his election to the United States Senate at the dawn of the Paleolithic Age, Joe Biden has been a fixture in the American political conscience. So much so that when he launched a bid for presidency, many were willing to overlook their valid concerns regarding his age. However, now four years later, the average American is far less inclined to ignore the ramblings, rumblings, and grumblings of our sitting president.
In order to discuss the shortcomings of Biden as a president, we have to delve deep into the successes of Biden as a senator. Through his representation of Delaware, Biden authored the Violence Against Women Act, served as the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and vigorously advocated for environmental protections. History will favor these actions, but will undoubtedly be less forgiving to his desire to cling to power in an America that has outlived its need for him.
Throughout Biden’s successful 2020 campaign, he attempted to portray himself as a unifying candidate for the American people to rally behind. Despite his commitment to unity, Biden has found himself as a political punching bag for the Republican Party due to his inability to address economic decline and for making catastrophic foreign policy decisions. Not only this, but the progressive Democratic faction has held him in contempt as a result of his refusal to hold Israel accountable for war crimes in their ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people. Despite the diverse opposition to Biden’s campaign, even progressive icon Bernie Sanders pleaded: “For the sake of our kids and future generations, [Biden] must win.”
However, President Biden’s frequent missteps and mispeakings have made the old codger a less-than-inspiring figure in his reelection bid. The lack of enthusiasm he elicits among his base has resulted in a rather unique assessment of the 2024 election: it remains more of a referendum on Trump than on Biden. In an election that many Biden supporters have painted as a battle between democracy and authoritarianism, a difficult question is brought forth: can Biden even defeat his predecessor?
On the day of the Presidential debate, before the entire nation, President Biden asserted about his opponent, former President Donald Trump, that "this guy’s three years younger and a lot less competent." This bold one-liner would have certainly been etched into the upper echelons of political roasts, if not for Biden’s train of thought completely derailing with his nonsensical statement: "We're able to make every single solitary person eligible for what I've been able to do with the ... with the COVID, excuse me, with um, dealing with everything we have to with, uh...Look, if we finally beat Medicare ..." Medicare may not have been beaten, but at this rate, Biden certainly will.
The dilemma of standing by Biden in the face of an increasingly-likely defeat has been plaguing the Democratic establishment throughout this election season. Political infighting has been undermining much of the Biden campaign, while the Republican Party almost universally recognizes Trump as their champion. Recently, Politico reported that former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi has been actively working to convince President Biden to withdraw from the race in favor of a more viable candidate. With each passing day, the case for replacing Biden grows stronger and stronger, yet the logistical challenge of ensuring victory in the general election for a potential last-minute replacement becomes increasingly daunting for the Democratic establishment.
As an anti-Trump religious conservative, it's evident that Trump's strengths—his devoted political base, dynamic personality, and devout political allies—position him favorably to win the election against Biden. While critiquing the current status quo is straightforward, finding a solution to the Democratic Party's woes proves far more complex. The debate over replacing Biden is likely to persist until Election Day, and it will likely haunt the Democratic Party if left unresolved. Biden's unfound confidence in his reelection prospects has only bolstered public sympathy toward Trumpist ideology.
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. came into American politics as a smooth-talking street pol and is poised to leave politics as a shadow of his former self in 2024. It is up to the Democratic establishment to preserve Biden as a relic of their successful past rather than allow him to become an emblem of their doomed future.
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