The New York Times editorial board came out on Friday with an op-ed demanding that President Joe Biden step aside as the Democratic presidential nominee while simultaneously admitting they plan to endorse him anyway.
Naturally, the Times begins its article by attacking Donald Trump, “Donald Trump has proved himself to be a significant jeopardy to that democracy — an erratic and self-interested figure unworthy of the public trust. He systematically attempted to undermine the integrity of elections. His supporters have described, publicly, a 2025 agenda that would give him the power to carry out the most extreme of his promises and threats. If he is returned to office, he has vowed to be a different kind of president, unrestrained by the checks on power built into the American political system.”
Shifting to Thursday’s debate, the board writes, “Voters, however, cannot be expected to ignore what was instead plain to see: Mr. Biden is not the man he was four years ago.”
They lament, “The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant. He struggled to explain what he would accomplish in a second term. He struggled to respond to Mr. Trump’s provocations. He struggled to hold Mr. Trump accountable for his lies, his failures and his chilling plans. More than once, he struggled to make it to the end of a sentence.”
The board further accuses Biden of being “engaged in a reckless gamble” and “It’s too big a bet to simply hope Americans will overlook or discount Mr. Biden’s age and infirmity that they see with their own eyes.”
The Times has endorsed every Democratic presidential candidate since John F. Kennedy in 1960 and despite everything they have written up to this point, they aren’t going to stop now, “If the race comes down to a choice between Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden, the sitting president would be this board’s unequivocal pick. That is how much of a danger Mr. Trump poses. But given that very danger, the stakes for the country and the uneven abilities of Mr. Biden, the United States needs a stronger opponent to the presumptive Republican nominee.”
While one wonders what a Democrat will have to do to get the editorial board to simply be neutral, the board attacked Republicans for their supposed blind loyalty to Trump, “The Republican Party, however, has been co-opted by Mr. Trump’s ambitions. The burden rests on the Democratic Party to put the interests of the nation above the ambitions of a single man.”
The board concludes by singing Biden’s praises, “It is the best chance to protect the soul of the nation — the cause that drew Mr. Biden to run for the presidency in 2019 — from the malign warping of Mr. Trump. And it is the best service that Mr. Biden can provide to a country that he has nobly served for so long.”
As for the liberal reaction to the Times, effusive praise, promising to endorse Biden anyway, and attacking Trump as a threat to democracy were still not enough for the left, some of whom, it was clear, didn’t actually read the article.
What a load of shit. Did I miss where you asked Trump to withdraw after he was found liable for rape and guilty on 34 felony counts?
— Chris D. Jackson (@ChrisDJackson) June 28, 2024
straw men alert.. no shit. but he can do the job and he is eons better than the guy who's the lying monster. BTW since now we know he lies constantly can you report that as a given and explore how he's used you to normalize disinformation?
— Jen "get knocked down, get back up " Rubin (@JRubinBlogger) June 28, 2024
