OPINION: Why is Joe Biden still the President?

Why is Joe Biden still the President of the United States? After dropping out of the 2024 presidential race and ceding the Democratic Party nomination and endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, but in staying in office to serve out his term, the American people have a right to know why this decision was reached. The truth is, after his dismal performance in the June 27 debate with former President Donald Trump, and subsequent interviews and campaign appearances, Biden had difficulty completing his thoughts and spoke incoherently often enough that members of the president’s own party wanted him to step aside because he’s not up to the job. Is there some sort of cognitive disorder that Democrats have kept a secret? In a July 21 post on X, Biden stated, “I have decided not to accept the nomination and to focus all my energies on my duties as President for the remainder of my term. My very first decision as the party nominee in 2020 was to pick Kamala Harris as my Vice President. And it’s been the best decision I’ve made. Today I want to offer my full support and endorsement for Kamala to be the nominee of our party this year.” Biden had been trailing Trump in national polls since September 2023, with not much change in the race—Trump’s last lead against Biden was an average of 3 percent, 47.7 percent-44.7 percent. Whereas, in the sparse amount of polls done for a Trump-Harris race, Trump leads an average 48 percent-46.3 percent, not much better. The implication is that Trump is leading the national popular vote whoever his opponent is, and that’s been true for almost a year now. So, it’s not the polls per se. Harris does not necessarily give Democrats a better chance of retaining the White House. About 35 percent of Democrats wanted Biden to stay in the race in the latest AP-NORC poll taken July 11-15, and many of whom might now feel betrayed. The fact is, no adequate explanation for Biden’s departure is being given, impacting Harris or whoever replaces Biden at the Democratic National Convention’s ability to keep the Democratic coalition together. This could put Harris or anyone else in an even worse position than Biden was to do well in November. Another factor is that replacing the incumbent hasn’t worked. When Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson did not stand for reelection in 1952 and 1968, Republicans won relatively easily. They could try, but Dems’ argument still becomes “The country got so bad we had to replace the president. Would you still vote for us?” It’s a show of weakness. So, it’s not the optics or history on their side either. Harris could wind up being something akin to a sacrificial lamb should Trump go on to easily win the election anyway. No, Biden’s decision to step aside, fueled by calls of elected Democratic leaders and Democratic-leaning media organizations, is because he can no longer do the job, and certainly not for another four years. If he couldn’t handle a debate, he cannot possibly handle negotiating with our nation’s adversaries, whether in Russia, China, Iran or North Korea, in order to keep the peace. So, why is Biden still the president? Democrats would have to admit that they had been lying about Biden’s ability to discharge his constitutional duties. Kamala Harris most of all. If Biden truly has a condition that makes it so he cannot do the job, her own job under the 25th Amendment is to get a “written declaration that the President is unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office” by Cabinet officials that she signs to remove the president, requiring two-thirds majorities in both houses of Congress to have Biden removed. Instead, Biden, for now, gets to stay in office and the country is left to pretend it was not because of anything to do with his abilities. The implication is that this is a cover-up of Biden’s condition, which now continues. They’d rather leave a vacant president in office than do damage to their party. In the meantime, the damage being done to the country is incalculable, when the preferred option is to destroy the presidency in order to “save” it. Now, the calls will come for Biden to resign the position outright. But it is clear that Biden’s decision to step aside was not something he came to all by himself. He was pressured into this course. If Biden is not fit to run, then he is not fit to serve. He should resign.      

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Robert Romano is the VP of public policy at Americans for Limited Government Foundation, the research arm of Americans for Limited Government, a libertarian political advocacy group. The organization conducts policy research and publishes reports with the goal of reducing the size of the government.