There has been widespread speculation about Biden’s future following his disastrous debate performance last Thursday, as Democratic bigwigs worry that his accelerating dementia may damage their electoral chances.
According to a report from Axios, one senior official outlined a plan to allow Biden to leave office “on his terms” rather than being forced out against his will.
They fear that if three years as president took this much of a toll, Biden could look, act, sound and feel much worse at 86, after five more years. And Democrats would be devastated if Donald Trump won because voters concluded Biden’s time has passed.
Why it matters: Top Democrats worry Biden’s situation hits too close to home for too many to ignore. Most people have watched a loved one decline — at first slowly, then dramatically — as they hit their mid-80s. These Democrats fear the party, not just Biden, would pay for ignoring this.
Meanwhile, an unnamed senior Democratic official outlined how Biden would not be “dragged off” the stage and therefore they must work out how to give him a dignified exit:
This is not about him submitting to the will of others yelling at him that he failed. Joe Biden is too proud for that argument. He will not be dragged off the stage.
The goal is to let him walk off the stage. He came; he saw; he conquered.
He wanted to get rid of Trump for the country; he wanted to prepare America for the future; and he wanted to help nurture the next generation to be a transitional president.
He can say to himself, in all honesty: All three have now been accomplished.
He got rid of Trump; helped prepare America through his legislation for the future; and, under his tenure, a generation of new Democrats have emerged.
You’ve got to give him the dignity to walk off on his own. The idea that it would happen in the immediate aftermath is clueless.
