Primer: Biden declining the nomination
It’s now settled that the 2024 presidential election will be a rematch between Joe Biden and Donald Trump. But plenty of people are unsatisfied with these choices. Trump, despite his legal troubles, dominated the primaries and commands the modern-day Republican party, so there’s no plausible path toward a different candidate. Though he is the sitting president, the same cannot be said for Biden, who is widely seen as too old for the office. For the start of spring quarter, Political Union will debate the following resolution:
President Joe Biden should decline the Democratic nomination.
The first, strongest argument for the pro side is Biden’s advanced age. Biden would be 86 at the end of a potential term. Recent polls indicate that around three quarters of voters are concerned about his age, including half of Democrats. It would be unprecedented to elect someone this old, and Biden has already faced brutal public-image scandals like a fall and Robert Hur’s report. Outside of age, Biden has also polled as a historically unpopular president. In particular, voters greatly prefer Trump’s handling of the economy after relatively high inflation in the wake of COVID. If it is the economy, stupid, then this weakness could be catastrophic for Democrats. Biden also sold himself to the party in 2020 as a bridge candidate saving democracy from Trump before ushering in a new guard of leaders. Failing to deliver on this promise frustrates many young voters, a contingent that Democrat’s can rarely afford to lose. Lastly, Biden has stood by Israel during its war against Hamas, splitting his coalition on a contentious issue. Whether it’s accurate and fair to Biden or not, many see him complicit in an ongoing genocide, which will further weaken his general election odds. Biden must be aware of all of these issues and put his party first by stepping down for a different Democratic candidate.
But the con side has plenty of valid points. First, there’s no immediately obvious candidate to step up and lead the party in a new direction: Vice President Kamala Harris is unpopular, and Governors Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer have committed to serving their respective states. Plus, the two politicians to challenge Biden, Robert Kennedy Jr. and Dean Phillips, both failed miserably. Simply put, there was a chance to choose a different candidate than Biden, and voters and potential candidates were disinterested. Now that he secured the votes of millions in the primaries, why would Biden suddenly change course and decline the nomination? Further, Biden’s bad polling numbers on the economy are slowly trending upward, showing the wide disconnect between public opinion and the economy’s actual performance (a phenomenon dubbed the vibecession) is shrinking. And this has coincided with a recent uptick in polls. By November, Biden’s standing could be significantly stronger. We also know that Biden has what it takes to combat Trump’s cruel form of campaigning because he literally already beat him. Lastly, Biden still sits in the Oval Office: he has the most reach and loudest voice in the world, if he chooses to use it. It would be ridiculous to concede this incumbency advantage and put forth a candidate that would quickly have to sell themselves to the public.
Come join us in Scott Hall 201 for the debate this Monday at 7pm!
"Vice President of the United States Joe Biden Democratic National Convention 2012" by Anthony Quintano is licensed under CC BY 2.0.