Opinion | ‘Poor Son of a B---h’: Biden Once Pitied an Older Politician Reluctant to Leave the Stage

In the 1990s, I was a political journalist who covered the White House, Congress and elections. One of my annual chores was to attend the president’s State of the Union address. After watching the speech from the House Gallery, my fellow reporters and I would walk one flight of stairs down to Statuary Hall to gather with members of Congress to get their reaction and collect quotes for our stories. This practice continues to this day; lawmakers who want to comment to reporters all head to Statuary Hall.

After one address, I believe in 1994, one of the lawmakers I pigeonholed was Sen. Joe Biden, who was then in his early 50s. I’d interviewed him a few times before, but certainly not enough to expect him to lower his guard. We chatted about President Bill Clinton’s speech. And then the topic turned to Biden’s ambition to become chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The then-holder of that office, Claiborne Pell, was in his late 70s and showing signs of the Parkinson’s disease that he’d later disclose.

I asked Biden if given Pell’s diminished capacity, he’d make a move to replace him. “That poor son of a bitch,” Biden replied. Pell was no longer up for the job, he told me, but like so many of his elderly colleagues, Pell couldn’t imagine a life outside Congress.

I was stunned by Biden’s comments. Not by his analysis of Pell, which was spot on. But what surprised me was Biden’s casual willingness to share candid thoughts with a reporter whom he didn’t know well and had no reason to trust. It was the type of indiscretion that has followed Biden to this day. In this case, it didn’t do any harm. I had no intention of writing about Pell. But it’s not every day a senator refers to a colleague with that kind of language, so the moment stayed with me.

For years after, and especially when he ran for president, I’d cite the Pell story when explaining to friends or others that Biden wasn’t a typical politician. His lack of discipline, I’d argue, was a sign he’s as close to a “regular guy” as you’ll ever get in a presidential candidate. To me, his refusal to be a robot with pre-programmed talking points was an appealing attribute.

Now that Biden himself has acknowledged that age is catching up to him, that moment takes on new meaning. Biden is now clinging to power when it’s obvious to all — except perhaps those related to him or dependent upon him for money and prestige — that he needs to step aside. [Eds note: In response to a request for comment, White House spokesperson Andrew Bates provided an email statement reading: “Joe Biden is grateful to be in good health and proud to be using his experience and drive to build on the most successful record of any modern president.”]

In his resistance, Biden is not unusual. Many of us have friends, family, or co-workers who had to be told that they could no longer be a surgeon, accountant, therapist, or some other profession. It’s heartbreaking to watch a person lose what they see as their reason for being.

But that’s where the empathy should end. In the same way a U.S. senator should not serve when he’s in a diminished capacity, a president of the United States cannot be of diminished capacity. Clinging to power is clinging to power, whether it’s concealing a true medical state or giving a Jan. 6 speech that exhorts your followers to march to the Capitol to “fight like hell.” They may not be of the same magnitude, but both reflect a willingness to put one’s interests above what is right for the country.

It's time for Biden to leave the stage.

He should immediately withdraw as the 2024 nominee and agree to have doctors assess whether he’s fit to serve the remaining months of his term. Fears of disruption is not an adequate excuse. One thing I’ve learned following politics is no one, least of all the paid political talking heads who clutter cable TV and social media, have a clue how those steps would scramble the 2024 election.

But that’s not the point. All of us who are outraged by Donald Trump’s careless handling of his presidency cannot and should not turn a blind eye when Biden and his team also behave recklessly.

Once upon a time, political machines could hide a president’s diminished capacity. A stroke left Woodrow Wilson enfeebled for the last 14 months of his presidency. And concealing Franklin D. Roosevelt’s declining health was considered a wartime necessity in the 1940s. Setting aside the reasoning behind those judgment calls, in an age of television and social media, it’s no longer possible to hide the state of the president’s health.

For Biden apologists who say that stepping aside will enable Trump to recapture the White House, I counter that the opposite is even more likely — that Biden’s insistence on running for reelection makes Trump’s election at least as likely, if not more likely. Biden could have avoided this, as indeed he hinted during the 2020 election. He could have signaled his intention to not seek reelection, clearing the field for an orderly process to pick the new Democrat standard-bearer.

If that had happened, Biden would have been lauded for putting his country first. Now, his stubbornness could tarnish a remarkable half-century of service to his country. He has a chance to salvage his legacy, but only if he bows to the reality that’s already obvious to most of the voters of this country.

When I see Biden now, his own words echo in my ears: “That poor son of a bitch.”