President Joe Biden should exit the 2024 presidential race following a subpar debate performance against former President Donald Trump, during which he appeared on the stage as "the shadow of a great public servant," said The New York Times' editorial board.
"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 Times' editorial said.
"Mr. Biden has said that he is the candidate with the best chance of taking on this threat of tyranny and defeating it. His argument rests largely on the fact that he beat Mr. Trump in 2020," it said. "That is no longer a sufficient rationale for why Mr. Biden should be the Democratic nominee this year."
The letter follows defections from other media allies, including MSNBC host Joe Scarborough; New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman; and Evan Osnos, Biden’s biographer.
Another Times opinion columnist, Lydia Polgreen, wrote a column saying Kamala Harris, Biden's vice president, would make a good replacement who could win the election. "I think I speak for a lot of women, probably the most decisive voting bloc in this election, when I say that I would love to see Harris cut Trump down to size," she wrote.
More on the Times editorial
While insisting that Biden, 81, has been an "admirable president," the board at the left-leaning Times said continuing his candidacy would be engaging in a "reckless gamble."
"There is no reason for the party to risk the stability and security of the country by forcing voters to choose between Mr. Trump's deficiencies and those of Mr. Biden," the board wrote. "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."
"Mr. Biden answered an urgent question on Thursday night. It was not the answer that he and his supporters were hoping for," the Times concluded.
"But if the risk of a second Trump term is as great as he says it is — and we agree with him that the danger is enormous — then his dedication to this country leaves him and his party only one choice."