The first presidential debate between candidates Joe Biden and Donald Trump was expected to be the most historic for the United States, and it turned out to be just that. Although many topics of interest to voters were discussed, there was one detail that everyone, including voters, personalities, and politicians, are commenting on: President Joe Biden’s age and his ability to continue in this campaign.
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Democrats ask Biden to step aside
That's why, according to NBC News, some Democrats are asking Joe Biden to step aside so that another candidate can run, after he stumbled a few times during Thursday's debate with his opponent Donald Trump.
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David Axelrod, former advisor to Barack Obama in his first government, said that "there is a sense of shock at how he came out at the beginning of this debate. How his voice sounded. He seemed a bit disoriented... There will be discussions on whether he should continue... Only he can decide if he will continue."
“This was like a champion boxer stepping into the ring after his prime and needing his corner to throw in the towel,” said an unnamed Democratic legislator, suggesting that Biden should drop out of the race.
New York Times asks Biden to drop out of the presidential race
In the midst of the tough debate for the Democratic Party, on Friday afternoon Joe Biden suffered another hard blow when in an unprecedented move, the New York Times published an editorial calling on him to drop his candidacy.
The New York Times is the most important newspaper in the United States, with a liberal stance, very critical of Trump, and usually supporting the Democratic option in presidential elections.
“The president appeared on Thursday night as the shadow of a great public servant. He struggled to explain what he would achieve in a second term. He struggled to respond to Trump’s provocations. He struggled to hold Trump accountable for his lies, failures, and chilling plans. More than once, he struggled to finish a sentence,” begins the opinion article on the pro-democrat website.
"Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has thrived and begun to address a series of long-term challenges, and the wounds opened by Trump have started to heal. But the greatest public service Biden can do now is to announce that he will not seek re-election," reads one of the most forceful paragraphs against the current president of the United States.
And then they added that “there are Democratic leaders better prepared to present clear, convincing, and energetic alternatives to a second Trump presidency. There is no reason for the party to risk the stability and security of the country by forcing voters to choose between the shortcomings of Trump and Biden.
Commentator Jon Stewart also joins criticisms against Biden
Another liberal, commentator-humorist also very critical of Trump is Jon Stewart, host of The Daily Show. And he joined the voices of despair after seeing the debate and Joe Biden's performance.
“Let me say after watching tonight's debate: these two men should be using performance-enhancing drugs,” Stewart said. “If performance-enhancing drugs improve their clarity, their problem-solving ability, and, in the case of one of the candidates, improve their truthfulness, morality, and malignant narcissism, then let the suppositories go.”
Stewart played a video clip in which Biden said that Medicare had to be "beaten": "I need to call a real estate agent in New Zealand," the host muttered.
"Alright, a very high-pressure situation!" he said ironically about Biden and then added, "Many times you can confuse saving Medicare with... ending it. I'm sure it's not something that was repeated throughout the whole debate, causing Democrats across the country to jump out of windows or quietly vomit."
Can Joe Biden withdraw his presidential candidacy?
However, the only way for the Democrats to have a new candidate is for Joe Biden to resign before the Democratic Party Convention of August 19, as delegates must confirm the mandate given by the voters of each state.
The delegates must "reflect in conscience the feelings of those who chose them," that is, the Democratic primary voters. So as long as Biden wants to remain on the ballot, it is expected that those delegates will vote for him.
“Since the rules do not impose any legal obligation on delegates to vote for the candidate they are committed to, a mass defection is at least theoretically possible. The party will formally nominate Biden when the delegates participate in a roll call vote. This typically occurs during a party convention, which for the Democrats begins the week of August 19,” explains Fox News on its website.