In 2020, the world was in the midst of a global pandemic unlike anything ever seen before. The global economy had crashed, millions of people died, and there was unprecedented global unrest.
Americans, frustrated with the economy and desiring a return to normal politics, voted to oust the Incumbent President, Donald Trump and instead opting for Former Vice President Joe Biden, a moderate Democrat and longtime civil servant.
When Biden was sworn in, the country was in a fragile state. The pandemic was killing thousands of Americans per week, the economy had crashed, and the country had not yet overcome the Presidential election and the ensuing Capitol riot. Despite this, many Americans found themself optimistic for the future with the new President. Even many Republicans praised the new President.
Today, 3 years later, that optimism has seemingly vanished. President Biden is currently in the political fight of his life, with nearly 60% of Americans disapproving of him. This would lead many to believe that his Presidency must have been an abysmal failure, but it has been anything but.
In less than 4 years in the White House, President Biden has pulled off what once seemed impossible. He has brought the American economy from the brink of collapse to new records, outpacing other developing countries and consistently beating expectations. He has brokered once-in-a-generation (often bipartisan) deals that once seemed like a distant possibility. He has stood up to Russian aggression, rallying our NATO allies to stand up for Ukraine and Western Democracy.
For many Americans, the upcoming Presidential Election is a choice between the lesser of two evils. The choice is clear to me: this election is a choice between democracy and authoritarianism. The Republican nominee for President, Donald Trump, is openly announcing that he plans to be a dictator on day one, threatening to fire thousands of dedicated civil servants, refusing to stand up to Putin, and is now a 34-time convicted felon. Trump has made it clear that he is completely unfit to serve and that his values are antithetical to the values that built America. Donald Trump presents a threat to our democracy unlike anything we have ever seen before and nothing about what he says or does is even remotely normal.
While Trump has been crisscrossing the country from one courthouse to another, Democrats, led by the Biden Administration, have focused on Americans and their priorities - reforming our immigration system, delivering aid to our allies, and continuing to surpass economic expectations.
Despite this, the first thing that now comes to many Americans’ minds when they think about the upcoming election is President Biden’s recent debate performance, where he at times seemed lost, confused, or clueless. I was one of millions of Americans who tuned into the debate for two painful hours. The President’s debate performance has led many top Democratic donors, politicians, and reporters to call for Biden to withdraw. If this were any normal election, I would also be preoccupied with Biden’s mental fitness, but this is not a normal election.
As I have said in this article, and as I have said for months, our focus in this election must not be about whether Joe Biden is fit to serve. Instead, our priority must be defeating Donald Trump and sending the Trump era into the dustbooks of history.
While many Americans feel that democracy is not truly threatened, many young people, like myself, are scared for our futures. In fact, if not for January 6th, I likely would not be involved politically, as I had previously had no plan to do so - my family had a background in STEM, not politics. But after January 6th, I knew I had to do something. In this election, democracy is at stake, and no matter how many gaffes Joe Biden may have, it will never be even close to the horrors of January 6th.
President Biden has been an incredible President. He is experienced, hard-working, and caring, and we owe him a debt of gratitude for serving Americans for the last four years. With that said, I hope that the President will follow his campaign theme that democracy is at stake and will seriously consider if he can win this election. If the answer to that question is anything other than a resounding “yes,” he ought to withdraw from the race.
With that said, it may also be true that there is no politician with better odds at beating Trump than our current President. I do not know whether Democrats would fare better under Biden or another nominee, but I do know that this is not the easy question that many have made it out to be (I am looking at you, New York Times).
If Biden and his advisors decide that the best way to beat Donald Trump is for the President to drop out, they will then be faced with another tough question - who will be his replacement at the top of the ticket? If you had asked me this question a few months ago, I certainly wouldn’t have suggested Vice President Kamala Harris, but I now recognize that she is by far the strongest candidate able to beat Donald Trump.
The Vice President’s life story is deeply inspiring, and she is well qualified, but her approval rating has long been underwater and often worse than that of her boss; however, Harris has major strengths that other potential contenders do not have.
For one, any other candidate, no matter how popular, would have to be completely reintroduced to the American electorate in a matter of months, which is no easy task. Harris will have virtually no trouble with this, as one of the most well-known politicians in America. Anyone who has ever had a conversation with me about politics for at least fifteen minutes knows that my favorite American politician is Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer, another potential contender, but the fact is that it would be incredibly hard (if not impossible) to introduce someone like Whitmer to the American electorate in just a few months.
One of the main arguments many have made against replacing President Biden is that it is no easy task and that it would bring an onslaught of legal challenges from Conservative legal groups and Republican Attorney Generals. While Harris’s nomination would likely still face legal challenges, it would have far fewer legal hurdles than nominating a completely new candidate. While I would cast legal action against the Democratic Nomination of any candidate as a long shot, it is hard to know with the current Supreme Court and its newfound willingness to accept once-extreme legal theories.
The last reason I see the Vice President as the best replacement to Biden, should he drop out, is that she is an experienced policymaker who has learned to speak diligently about the issues at the top of Americans' minds this election. The Vice President has become the President’s key voice on issues, notably including abortion, the war in Gaza, and immigration. She has become a strong public speaker who can deliver an effective rebuke to Trump's lies and outsmart him by a landslide in any debate. While the Vice President will likely face some of the same challenges Biden currently faces with black, latino, and young voters, she would likely speak to their concerns much better than President Biden, who many young voters in particular view as out-of-touch.
No matter what decision the President makes, he needs to make a decision soon. The Democratic convention is only a few weeks away, and the longer the Democratic Party stalls on a consensus, the more risky the outcome is.
In the end, the heart of the President’s case against Donald Trump has been that Trump puts himself before the interests of the country at large. President Biden needs to understand the stakes of this election and get serious about beating Trump. Whether it is him or Kamala Harris, our focus as Democrats cannot be on whether Biden is fit to serve, but instead on the best way to beat the former President. President Biden is right that democracy is at stake in this election, and we need to act accordingly, regardless of if we replace him or not.
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