“Almost a year ago, it was obvious that President Joe Biden should not run for a second term,” wrote Washington Post columnist David Ignatius. But Biden and his supporters did not budge. According to the columnist, the American leader was convinced that he could beat Donald Trump and “believed that there was no one who could do it better.” In his opinion, perhaps paradoxically, if Trump had not run in the election, Biden would have dropped out of the race. “It is never too late to do the right thing,” wrote Ignatius.
After the first presidential candidates debate USA Writer and columnist David Ignatius published an article in Saturday's edition of the Washington Post entitled: “Why won't Biden accept the truth that everyone sees?”
“Almost a year ago, it was obvious that President Biden should not run for a second term,” he wrote. “Yet Biden and his inner circle have not budged,” he added, calling the debate “disastrous.”
“I have an extraordinary window into Biden's march toward the abyss,” he wrote. He recalled that he wrote an article in September 2023 titled “President Biden Should Not Run Again in 2024.” The article sparked a wide discussion, also because the author has always been a staunch supporter of the current president's policies.
Ignatius said that in the months following the publication of this text in the fall, he “talked regularly with people close to Biden about why he decided to stay in the (presidential) race.” “Their comments help clarify the path to Thursday evening and show how Biden's inner circle will now be key to persuading him to step down,” wrote a commentator for the Washington daily.
Joe BidenPAP/EPA/STAN GILLILAND
“He believed there was no one who could do it better.”
According to the journalist, the main reason Biden decided to run for re-election was his instinctive belief that he could win, and he was also motivated by a deep aversion to Donald Trump and his “rebellion” known as MAGA, from the first letters of Trump's slogan – Make America Great Again.
The author notes that Biden had already defeated Trump once and “thought he could do it again.” “Most importantly, he believed that there was no one who could do it better,” we read.
The columnist claims that perhaps paradoxically, if in elections If Trump Didn't Run, Biden Would Drop Out of the Race “He could say he achieved his political goal of defeating Trump and paving the way for a younger generation of leaders. But Trump's successful primary campaign all but guaranteed that Biden would stay,” he wrote.
His wife supports him
The most important role in the president's entourage is played by his family, especially his wife Jill. She was “furious” when Ignatius wrote that her husband should not seek reelection, the author of the article was informed by people familiar with both Bidens.
“Loyalty is admirable, except when it harms the people we love,” the columnist wrote. He also recalled that it was President Lyndon Johnson's wife, Lady Bird, who convinced him not to run for re-election.
Joe Biden and Jill BidenPAP/EPA/STAN GILLILAND
“It's never too late to do the right thing”
Biden's inner circle advisors are also responsible for his attitude. The writer said that although he heard voices from people in the president's circle who agreed with him after his September text, they were quickly suppressed. According to Ignatius, they tried to protect Biden and went too far, which was a mistake.
“What is particularly painful in this story is that Biden was, in most respects, a very good president (…). Effective, despite obvious signs of stress. And he also remained a decent person,” the author emphasized.
Biden’s closest advisers — Mike Donilon, Ron Klain and the first lady — have a moral obligation to be honest with him now. If the president has the strength and wisdom to step down, Democrats will have two months to choose another candidate. “It’s never too late to do the right thing,” Ignatius wrote.
Main image source: PAP/EPA/STAN GILLILAND