Dems/leaners: Should Biden drop out?

[Sir Mohamed]

In light of recent polling numbers and forum discussions ... Should Joe Biden drop out of the 2024 presidential race? 20 day poll till the year's end.

I'm not there yet, though I increasingly think that he should have announced in spring that he won't run again.

[7,052,770]

Assuming all of his health vitals (physical and mental) are ok, he should stay in. He is on track to sweep every state's primary or caucus in a decisive landslide.

The voters have a viable alternative in a noncontroversial and inoffensive Congressman running against him, but all signs point to Biden being their preference.

[wbrocks67]

Absolutely not.

People don't seem to realize that Biden dropping out for whatever reason would lead to attacks from everyone on everything Biden accomplished being a complete failure. You really think Republicans are just going to let Biden step down and not make a big deal out of it? Come on people, you're smarter than this.

[HagridOfTheDeep]

Of course.

To the last poster: Republicans are already doing all that, and because Biden is who he is, he is woefully unable to counter their attacks. You must be living in some bubble where Democrats support the Democratic president no matter what, like it’s normal times. Out in the real world, all anybody actually feels is embarrassed because he’s so old and such a terrible messenger. There are people who will “vote blue” because Republicans are literally evil, but nobody is voting “for Biden.” That’s a huge problem.

[Xing]

Pressuring Biden to drop out (because let's be honest, even if he said that he was making his own decision, this is exactly how it would look) would allow Republicans to very successfully paint Democrats as opportunistic hypocrites who were admitting that they had failed the American people over the past four years. If Biden's agenda remains unpopular in 2024, that's going to hurt the Democrats no matter who is at the top of the ticket. These cries for Biden to drop out get more desperate as time goes. I'll say it again: Dread it, run from it, the choice of Biden or Trump arrives all the same. Maybe Democrats shouldn't have insisted on Biden in 2020 if they were worried about his age.

[ugabug]

I think he should've dropped out a year ago to allow a primary to have taken place now it's probably too late for him to drop out this late into the primary season.

[Galeel]

Nowadays it's probably too late but he absolutely should not have run for re-election. Being the candidate of leaving everything basically the same (which is undoubtedly Biden's campaign message, both in 2020 and 2024) is a terrible place to be in when everyone can tell that the USA is going to sh**t. Democrats need to campaign on change if they want to win in 2024.

[jojoju1998]

Pressuring Biden to drop out (because let's be honest, even if he said that he was making his own decision, this is exactly how it would look) would allow Republicans to very successfully paint Democrats as opportunistic hypocrites who were admitting that they had failed the American people over the past four years. If Biden's agenda remains unpopular in 2024, that's going to hurt the Democrats no matter who is at the top of the ticket. These cries for Biden to drop out get more desperate as time goes. I'll say it again: Dread it, run from it, the choice of Biden or Trump arrives all the same. Maybe Democrats shouldn't have insisted on Biden in 2020 if they were worried about his age.

But that was the thing. Biden was not the first choice of the democratic establishment. Obama especially praised Elizabeth Warren. Others wanted Buttegieg. Kamala Harris. But those others guys just flopped, leaving Biden as the last man standing.

[TodayJunior]

No! And why would he. He’s clearly not going to anyway and the csmpaigning hasn’t even begun. Please stop dooming; everything is ok!

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Yes.

I've been posting about this a lot for the last 2-3 months, and at this point I do need to acknowledge it's getting to be too late in the process to do this smoothly.  I still think there's time, but there really needs to be some urgency about this.

But one important thing is that Biden shouldn't "drop out", he should retire.

Pressuring Biden to drop out (because let's be honest, even if he said that he was making his own decision, this is exactly how it would look) would allow Republicans to very successfully paint Democrats as opportunistic hypocrites who were admitting that they had failed the American people over the past four years. If Biden's agenda remains unpopular in 2024, that's going to hurt the Democrats no matter who is at the top of the ticket.

Biden's agenda isn't unpopular!
Biden is unpopular because people believe he's too old to effectively manage the country.
A younger Democrat with the exact same agenda would be a much more effective candidate.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

But that was the thing. Biden was not the first choice of the democratic establishment. Obama especially praised Elizabeth Warren. Others wanted Buttegieg. Kamala Harris. But those others guys just flopped, leaving Biden as the last man standing.

I was never a Buttegieg supporter, but it's absurd to say his campaign "flopped".  It was spectacularly successfully in transforming him from an obscure mayor with 1% national name recognition to someone on the very shortest of shortlists of potential successors to lead the party.

[President Johnson]

No, I think people are overreacting to the polls. They're just a snapshot and we sadly are short of high-quality polls as well.

What also should be considered that Biden's most likely replacement would be Kamala, and I have way less confidence that she can win an election.

[Amenhotep Bakari-Sellers]

He already won Nov 8 th he isn't dropping out his name is printed on 24 ballots already c'mon man

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

What also should be considered that Biden's most likely replacement would be Kamala, and I have way less confidence that she can win an election.

If you actually believe this, I think you could make a lot of money on PredictIt. Harris is only at 7c to win the nomination there, while Newsom is at 18c.

[Persephone]

I've been a Biden defender for some time but if he can't get more than -10 in Michigan it's time for him to bow out.

[Beet]

Plenty of people want him to drop put, no one seems to want to advocate for a replacement. Harris and Newsom are both rather weak. Those that really want him gone if they are sincere need to come up with the alternative and fast.

[redjohn]

I joined the "he should drop out" wing a few weeks ago. I don't care if there's a primary or he drops out at the convention, but for the love of god please nominate Gov. Whitmer/Newsom/someone remotely competent (not Harris, obviously). If the most important outcome and reason Biden is running is to defeat Trump, why not nominate someone who would be a good administrator and can also stand their own with voters?

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

Plenty of people want him to drop put, no one seems to want to advocate for a replacement. Harris and Newsom are both rather weak. Those that really want him gone if they are sincere need to come up with the alternative and fast.

A "replacement" should be chosen through the normal primary process, just like every election cycle without the incumbent running. I could easily list 6-8 stronger candidates off the top of my head (and have in other threads), but the voters should decide.

[DrScholl]

The same ones bitching and complaining for him to drop out would scream bloody murder at a nominee being chosen without a primary. And at this stage that's how a nominee would be chosen, at a brokered convention with the dreaded superdelegates getting a vote.

These questions are pointless anyway because the real world doesn't operate on Atlas thinking.

[7,052,770]

Plenty of people want him to drop put, no one seems to want to advocate for a replacement. Harris and Newsom are both rather weak. Those that really want him gone if they are sincere need to come up with the alternative and fast.

A "replacement" should be chosen through the normal primary process, just like every election cycle without the incumbent running. I could easily list 6-8 stronger candidates off the top of my head (and have in other threads), but the voters should decide.

The voters are deciding anyway. An inoffensive  generic D Congressman is running against Biden, and we'll actually get to know soon if Democratic voters really want to dump Biden or not.

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

These questions are pointless anyway because the real world doesn't operate on Atlas thinking.

Isn't almost every question on this forum pointless under that line of thinking?

[Fmr. Gov. NickG]

The voters are deciding anyway. An inoffensive  generic D Congressman is running against Biden, and we'll actually get to know soon if Democratic voters really want to dump Biden or not.

But this is the wrong way to think about this.
Democratic voters don't want Biden to be defeated. That would be a repudiation of his administration and accomplishments.  They want him to declare victory and retire on top.

[Progressive Pessimist]

No, I think people are overreacting to the polls. They're just a snapshot and we sadly are short of high-quality polls as well.

What also should be considered that Biden's most likely replacement would be Kamala, and I have way less confidence that she can win an election.

Yeah, polling looks bleak right now, but we'll get through it and things will change when the campaigns begin.

I felt hopeless when Trump was at one of his few net positive approval points in March 2020-when the pandemic created a rally effect for him-but within a few weeks he told everyone to inject themselves with disinfectant and his numbers cratered again. Polling will not remain static, especially with someone as erratic as Trump.

[7,052,770]

The voters are deciding anyway. An inoffensive  generic D Congressman is running against Biden, and we'll actually get to know soon if Democratic voters really want to dump Biden or not.

But this is the wrong way to think about this.
Democratic voters don't want Biden to be defeated. That would be a repudiation of his administration and accomplishments.  They want him to declare victory and retire on top.

That's just supposition and assertion. There's no data supporting that idea that Democrats are having that particular thought process.

Personally I think it makes more sense to just dismiss the polls saying that 75% or whatever of Democrats don't want Biden to be the nominee than try to contrive a reason why they might really think that but still ultimately vote for him in colossal landslides anyway.

Or maybe I'm totally wrong, the polls are right, and Phillips will win or at least give Biden a scare. I kinda doubt it though.

[xavier110]

Well… he’s currently decisively losing to this guy.

https://twitter.com/RonFilipkowski/status/1734642061754651123?ref_src=twsrc%5Etf...