The clarity of Joe Biden's legacy-defining choice
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President Biden has been under siege since his disastrous performance during his first (and now only) debate with Donald Trump several weeks ago. The news media swiftly piled on the president, appearing to delight in the opportunity to question his health, age, state of mind, and capacity to fulfill his myriad of responsibilities both as leader of the country and as the Democratic Party’s presumptive nominee after years of quiet speculation. The mainstream American news media, trained by the Republicans and larger right-wing for decades to be Pavlovian dogs, cowed by the fear of being smeared with the accusation of “liberal bias," has so far demonstrated no such enthusiasm for doggedly discussing Donald Trump’s state of mind and behavior.
Trump is a man who is an existential danger to the country, an aspiring dictator and coup plotter, a convicted felon and sexual assaulter as confirmed by a court of law, not much younger than President Biden, and who has repeatedly and publicly demonstrated a pattern of behavior in terms of his speech, memory, behavior, and cognition which suggest that he may be experiencing challenges with his mind, thinking, and emotions.
President Biden, for his part, would conduct a series of press conferences, TV interviews, and speak at rallies and other events. This did little to nothing to satisfy the news media and successfully push back against a larger narrative that President Biden was too old and needed to step down. Then Biden fell ill with COVID, which was another reminder of his age and mortality.
Senior members of the Democratic Party, including former President Barack Obama and Nancy Pelosi, were reportedly alarmed by President Biden’s debate performance and what it may signify about his capacities more broadly. They too, first in private and then as a growing public chorus, turned against President Biden and voiced their desire for an alternate candidate as they feared not just losing the 2024 presidential election but the House and Senate as well. The big money Democratic Party donors also signaled their desire to move on from President Biden by turning off the money spigot. As quoted by Axios last week, one of President Biden’s close friends summarized his increasingly tenuous position as follows, “His choice is to be one of history's heroes, or to be sure of the fact that there'll never be a Biden presidential library. I pray that he does the right thing. He's headed that way.”
The American people are tired and disgusted with the overall state of the country’s politics and the choice between Biden and Trump (two aging candidates in a rematch from 2020, which featured a coup by Trump and all of the national trauma it caused). This includes a majority of Democrats who want President Biden to pass the torch of leadership to another candidate.
In all, President Biden’s reelection campaign became increasingly untenable. By comparison, during the same time period, Donald Trump survived an assassination attempt, was elevated to the level of God King at the Republican National Convention, and was only gaining momentum in what increasingly looked like an inevitable landslide victory in November.
President Biden had a legacy-defining choice to make: He could lead, follow, or get out of the way. But the dividing lines between those choices are not easy and neat for most people, never mind the president of the United States during a time of democracy crisis and existential danger to the future of the country.
As a leader, the decision to “get out of the way” is usually not easy or simple because it involves one’s ego, peace of mind, and internal narrative. In the worst instances, the decision to get out of the way can be a form of narcissistic injury. For Biden, would he write his own narrative, or have it written for him by others? Is he the Comeback Kid from Scranton or something less than? Does one horrible debate performance negate all that he has accomplished as president? What if he is in fact the best chance to defeat Donald Trump and by doing so to save the country’s democracy (at least for another four years)?
On Sunday, President Biden made the very difficult choice to withdraw his nomination. On Wednesday, he spoke from the Oval Office to explain his decision. “I revere this office. But I love my country more,” he told the nation.
“It’s been the honor of my life to serve as your president. But in defense of democracy, which is at stake – and is more important than any title. I draw strength and I find joy in working for the American people.”
What about President Biden’s decision to follow?
The answer here is also not a simple or easy one. Where is President Biden following the leaders of his own party, its voters, and the mainstream news media and commentariat? Specifically, what if by following their wishes, the country ends up at a worse destination where Donald Trump defeats Kamala Harris and becomes the country’s first dictator? What if in hindsight President Biden, for a variety of reasons (here: hostile sexism and racism and white supremacy against Kamala Harris) would have had a better chance of victory?
What of President Biden’s role as a leader in this history-defining moment?
In the end, President Biden decided to be a great leader by making the difficult decision to follow and get out of the way for the good of the Democratic Party, specially, and most importantly for the American people and the future of their democracy. As seen on Jan. 6, Donald Trump and the other MAGA neofascists and other such demagogues and enemies of democracy most certainly would never do such a thing.
Writing in the Atlantic, Tom Nichols praised President Biden’s decision and leadership: "President Joe Biden has chosen to put his country over his own ego, a heroic decision that shows the difference between a political party and a cult of personality. Now that Biden is stepping down, perhaps all the false equivalency can end. Biden is a good man, and he’s been a good and consequential president with a first-term record most of his predecessors would envy…."
Also at the Atlantic, Peter Wehner wrote:
It was a very hard thing for President Joe Biden to do, and it was the right thing for him to do…. Coming to terms with mortality is never easy. We rage against the dying of the light. Many elderly people face the painful moment of letting go, of losing independence and human agency, when they are told by family they have to give up the keys to the car; Biden was told by his party to give up the keys to the presidency. Of course this proud man would fight to hang on.
But in the end, and to his credit, Joe Biden got to where he needed to be, and not a moment too soon. Staying in the race would have been an act of monumental selfishness. As it is, what he did will be seen as an act of impressive selflessness.
It’s not clear whether Trump can be beaten. Democrats have dug themselves into a deep hole. But at least they now have a fighting chance.
The Editorial Board of the Philadelphia Inquirer also praised President Biden’s leadership: “In the end, President Joe Biden did the right thing for the country…. Biden’s departure removes the focus about his age from the race. It is not easy to give up power. But Biden did the right thing for the country. Now is the time for everyone who believes in democracy, the rule of law, and the Constitution to come together and stop Trump from ruining the United States.”
Robert Reich is sincere and warm in his appreciation and praise for President Biden’s act of leadership in withdrawing from the 2024 presidential election:
Let me add my words of gratitude to Joe Biden for doing something Donald Trump is incapable of doing — putting his country over ego, ambition, and pride.
Biden bowed out with grace and dignity.
It would have been better had he done so three weeks ago, after the debate revealed him to be much frailer and weaker than most of America had assumed. Or better yet, had he not sought a second term to begin with.
But ultimately, Biden made the right decision….
The elite agenda-setting American news media also praised President Biden’s act of leadership.
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Historian Jon Meacham said the following about his dear friend in an essay at the New York Times:
Mr. Biden has spent a lifetime trying to do right by the nation, and he did so in the most epic of ways when he chose to end his campaign for re-election. His decision is one of the most remarkable acts of leadership in our history, an act of self-sacrifice that places him in the company of George Washington, who also stepped away from the presidency. To put something ahead of one’s immediate desires — to give, rather than to try to take — is perhaps the most difficult thing for any human being to do. And Mr. Biden has done just that….
Character, as the Greeks first taught us, is destiny, and Mr. Biden’s character is both a mirror and a maker of his nation’s. Like Franklin Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan, he is optimistic, resilient and kind, a steward of American greatness, a lover of the great game of politics and, at heart, a hopeless romantic about the country that has given him so much.
Nothing bears out this point as well as his decision to let history happen in the 2024 election. No matter how much people say that this was inevitable after the debate in Atlanta last month, there was nothing foreordained about an American president ending his political career for the sake of his country and his party. By surrendering the possibility of enduring in the seat of ultimate power, Mr. Biden has taught us a landmark lesson in patriotism, humility and wisdom.”
The New York Times Editorial Board also applauded President Biden, “[His] decision to exit the 2024 presidential election is a fitting coda for a man whose life has been devoted to public service. Mr. Biden has served the nation well as its president. By agreeing to step down when his term ends in January, he is greatly increasing the chance that his party is able to protect the nation from the dangers of returning Donald Trump to the presidency.”
At the Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin supports President Biden’s decision to withdraw his nomination while also wondering how he and the country arrived at this point:
In an extraordinary act of patriotism and self-awareness, President Biden announced Sunday he would step away from his own reelection campaign. Although he had seemingly cut himself off from seasoned voices in his party and was portrayed as huddled in his bunker, in the end he did listen to the overwhelming number of senior Democrats, donors and ordinary voters. He put his party and country first…. There will be plenty of time to recount his immense accomplishments. However, for now, we can ask: How did it come to this?...
In sum, Biden had gotten to this unsustainable position largely because of his own history and outlook and the understandable defensiveness of aides and family. However, Biden and his inner circle eventually managed to recognize that the potential consequences of maintaining a faltering campaign — a devastating November loss, permanent damage to democracy, crushing down-ballot losses — could irreparably mar his legacy and endanger America.
Biden therefore stands to go down as not only one of the most accomplished modern presidents but also one of the most selfless. Instead of a tragic demise, this episode might be seen as his finest hour. He already began the smooth transition by endorsing Vice President Harris. Now, she and the party can come to together to defend democracy. Nothing is more important.
Given his decades of public service, Biden deserved much better than the poor treatment he received from the news media and the Democratic Party’s senior leaders and donor class these last few weeks. But here we are. The president made the choice to withdraw his nomination for what he believes is the good of the country.
If Kamala Harris wins, Biden’s act of leadership will be praised, and he will be rightfully elevated as one of the country’s best presidents. If the horrific happens, and Dictator Trump “wins” and takes power, President Biden will be blamed, made into a scapegoat, for giving in to those forces who wanted him out. Great leaders are willing to take great risks. President Biden did just that by stepping aside. We will soon find out if that was the best decision or one of history’s great mistakes.
