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The New York Times Editorial in an op-ed wrote that President Joe Biden should suspend his presidential campaign after a poor showing at the first presidential debate and let a fresh new Democratic candidate take his place.
"Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address a range of long-term challenges, and the wounds ripped open by Trump have begun to heal. But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election," the editorial board stated on Friday (28 June).
The editorial board said that at the debate, Biden failed to convince the American public that he was fit to serve a second term in office.
Biden struggled to explain what he would accomplish in a second term, struggled to respond to former President Donald Trump's provocations, and struggled to speak on several occasions, the editorial board pointed out.
"The clearest path for Democrats to defeat a candidate defined by his lies is to deal truthfully with the American public: acknowledge that Mr. Biden can't continue his race, and create a process to select someone more capable to stand in his place to defeat Mr. Trump in November," the editorial board said.
Meanwhile, The Washington Post newspaper published a list of 10 potential candidates from the Democratic Party that could replace Biden in the presidential run, saying that the party has spent much of the 2024 campaign "burying its head in the sand" over US voters' concerns about Biden's "age and mental sharpness."
The list of possible candidates includes US Vice President Kamala Harris, Governor of Michigan Gretchen Whitmer, US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, Colorado Governor Jared Polis, California Governor Gavin Newsom, Senator Raphael Warnock, former US first lady Michelle Obama, Senator Amy Klobuchar and Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear.
Moreover, UK ministers privately called on the US Democratic Party to replace Biden as the Democratic nominee for the presidential post after his speech at the debate, The Telegraph newspaper reported, citing sources familiar with the matter.
The UK officials reportedly asked to replace Biden with a more fit candidate who has more opportunities to outrun Trump.
On Thursday evening, Biden and Trump participated in a CNN-hosted debate in Atlanta. Biden's performance reportedly sparked concerns among Democrats and raised questions about the future of his candidacy.
Biden and his campaign admitted earlier in the day that the US president had a rough showing at the debate in Atlanta but they assured the public that they would not end the reelection bid.
The US presidential election is slated for November 2024. The main contenders expected on the ballot are Biden and Trump, who have both won enough delegates' votes to be their respective Democratic and Republican parties' presumptive nominees. Trump and Biden are set to debate again on September 10.
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