# Biden considering dropping out (Update: Biden drops out) **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [July 3, 2024, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690 "2024-07-03T16:50:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 93
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1850 "2024-07-19T21:34:58Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > He hasn’t been! He’s been entitled, belligerent, angry, and obstinate. This _attitude_ is as bad a sign as his constant gaffes and mistakes. There’s a reason that this situation keeps getting compared to taking away the car keys (if not something even more permanent like going to a nursing home). I totally understand why he would have that reaction. It doesn’t mean that he’s correct in his conclusion. The real Rubicon would be to 25th Amendment him before the convention and make it stick (which is not easy to do). And frankly, I don’t think a lot of people want to see that happen in say 2026 if he does manage to win this November. The country can’t run long on “Acting President Whoever” while “President Whatshisname” is slowly impeached for incompetence. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1851 "2024-07-19T21:40:20Z")
There are a lot of adjectives that can be used to describe Joe Biden. “Egotistical” is not one of them. Have you people seen the guy he’s running against? I feel like I’m in Bizarro World. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1852 "2024-07-19T21:40:41Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > …for real? You expect the person running for office to say “well, maybe I’m not the best man for the job, I guess you’ll have to roll the dice and find out”? You DO realize he is running for office, right? > […] > and if he was the best candidate, and he lost anyways, the correct answer _is_ to respect the democratic process. This isn’t relevant to the “I would have tried my best” comment. It’s fine for him to think that he’s the best for the job. No one is saying that his comment was relevant to respecting the democratic process. The point is that his comment was self-centered and childish. > [@](#): > > I’ve seen a ton of people and outlets make this claim[…] Yeah, because it really was egregiously clueless! And keep in mind, it’s not just this one comment; it’s part of the whole context of his terrible attitude toward challenges to his candidacy. > [@](#): > > If people weren’t desperate to build this “Joe Biden of all fucking people is a megalomaniac” narrative that they grasped at any possible straw, we would _never_ be having this kind of converstion about that nothingburger turn of phrase. I haven’t heard anyone use that word. Anyone running for president is going to have a strong ego and the issues that go with that. Biden has been exhibiting that characteristic to an unfortunate degree. > [@](#): > > Interesting how in 2017 it was incredibly unethical to speculate about the president’s mental state, but now we are all freely writing endless narratives about Joe Biden’s supposed delusions. I don’t know what you’re talking about, really. Age was a factor, but I don’t remember people on our side, including his opponents, saying he was already exhibiting cognitive decline at that point. > [@](#): > > Or, he knew that he was the best candidate to take on Trump, and moving on from a stumble with as much decorum as possible is the only possible way for him to have recovered. Yeah, in the same way that walking off a cliff is a “stumble.” ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1853 "2024-07-19T21:43:15Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > I don’t know what you’re talking about, really. Age was a factor, but I don’t remember people on our side, including his opponents, saying he was already exhibiting cognitive decline at that point. No, people were speculating on whether he is a psychopath or a sociopath or a narcissist, and so the APA issued a statement about how horribly unethical it is to issue those kinds of opinions without personally examining Trump, and that it discredits the medical profession as a whole. Now I see tons of doctors speculating about Biden’s mental decline willy nilly. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1854 "2024-07-19T21:44:15Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > There are a lot of adjectives that can be used to describe Joe Biden. “Egotistical” is not one of them. I agree that Biden doesn’t typically speak in an egotistical manner, but his recent words and behavior have revealed an ego that is getting in the way of a rational decision. > [@](#): > > Have you people seen the guy he’s running against? That’s not relevant to whether Biden is egotistical. > [@](#): > > I feel like I’m in Bizarro World. Me too. I thought Biden was better than this. ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1855 "2024-07-19T21:44:53Z")
I think the Democrats who are opposing Biden are handling the situation well overall. Clearly discreet, respectful, behind the scenes discussions were tried and failed. If you believe that Biden can’t possibly win, the only option is to make the pressure progressively more public. Of course, like any politician, Biden has a massive ego. This must be unbelievably heartbreaking for him and his family. He did a great job as President, and assuming he does the right thing eventually, I don’t think his place in history will suffer because it took him a few weeks to come to terms with the situation. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1856 "2024-07-19T21:46:16Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > Or, he knew that he was the best candidate to take on Trump, and moving on from a stumble with as much decorum as possible is the only possible way for him to have recovered. > > Yeah, in the same way that walking off a cliff is a “stumble.” The debate was hardly a cliff. If anything will damage Biden’s odds of winning, or force him to step down, it isn’t his performance at the debate; it is the way that once again the American Left decides that the best way to react to Trump’s threat is to eat itself as quickly as possible. Biden had a mild stumble (not because he didn’tsuck at the debate, he did; but debates really don’t matter to this extent), and now half his party is trying to shove him off the cliff while lamenting how sad it is that he tripped. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1857 "2024-07-19T21:49:44Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > This isn’t relevant to the “I would have tried my best” comment. It’s fine for him to think that he’s the best for the job. No one is saying that his comment was relevant to respecting the democratic process. > > The point is that his comment was self-centered and childish. Yeah, I’m not buying it. Maybe you’ve listened to Trump for so long that you’ve forgotten what adults sound like, but that comment was definitely not “childish”. God damn. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1858 "2024-07-19T21:49:46Z")
> [@Kent\_Clark](#): > > My question is not whether Biden is more or less popular than he was, but is he as capable of turning that support into actual votes. Will voters turn out for Biden? Can Harris generate more enthusiasm and drive turnout higher? I believe that _this_ is the problem entirely. Biden will get the votes of most dedicated, high information voters regardless of whether they feel he has the right stuff or not, because the alternative is unthinkable. This same group would vote just as strongly for Harris, or Raskin, or Shapiro, or for whoever was the nominee. Any breathing and semi-sane Democrat will do, though they surely have their druthers. The problem is there aren’t enough dedicated, high information voters to carry us over the finish line. The youth vote and the Muslim vote have largely forsaken Joe Biden over Gaza, and they seem to feel that sitting out the vote entirely in protest will get their point across. They won’t add to trump’s numbers, but they won’t help Biden either. Then there are the people who just don’t feel engaged enough to bother. They don’t have anything strong against Biden and think trump is kinda squirrelly, but conclude “meh, they both suck, I’m not voting for either of them”. It’s an enthusiasm problem for the Dems. I am not certain of the solution, but the problem is Biden. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1859 "2024-07-19T21:51:07Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > No, people were speculating on whether he is a psychopath or a sociopath or a narcissist, and so the APA issued a statement about how horribly unethical it is to issue those kinds of opinions without personally examining Trump, and that it discredits the medical profession as a whole. That was bullshit then and now. > [@](#): > > Now I see tons of doctors speculating about Biden’s mental decline willy nilly. FWIW, the psychologists I’ve quoted about Trump’s dementia said in their latest podcast that Biden seemed cognitively fine. To me, and I think a lot of other people, it’s not about whether Biden has clinical dementia, Parkinson’s, or any other defined condition. It’s that he’s incapable of being president based on criteria for that job, and his capability has rapidly declined, or has become less hidden, since the SOTU address. Whatever that debate was, it was fucking unacceptable, and he’s made a bunch of other unacceptable mistakes since then as well. Plus we are hearing that Biden can’t do events late in the day, etc. We see all the excuses made for Trump that are total bullshit, right? Biden does not have the energy and focus required to be president any more. Part of the job is communicating and projecting strength and competence. He clearly can’t do that any more. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1860 "2024-07-19T21:52:30Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Part of the job is communicating and projecting strength and competence. He clearly can’t do that any more. Not when half his party is shouting over him “rEsIgN! rEsIgN!”, that’s for damn sure. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1861 "2024-07-19T21:54:14Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Biden does not have the energy and focus required to be president any more. Part of the job is communicating and projecting strength and competence. He clearly can’t do that any more. He might still have that for being President. Especially if he can delegate well and is still there mentally and is just having issues communicating. It’s becoming pretty clear that he doesn’t have it for being Candidate for President. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1862 "2024-07-19T21:55:20Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Yeah, I’m not buying it. Maybe you’ve listened to Trump for so long that you’ve forgotten what adults sound like, but that comment was definitely not “childish”. God damn. It was not the words that were childish–they were just a simple phrase–but the attitude in the particular context. Speaking of adults, how often do we hear adults talking as Biden did in the debate? Even a pimply high-schooler in debate club doesn’t get nervous or make mistakes _in that way._ Again, the exact clinical reason is beside the point; it was just really fucked up and unacceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1863 "2024-07-19T21:55:59Z")
Right, but being a candidate is part of the job, as you recognize in your comment. ---
**Author:** ![Happy\_Lendervedder](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/happy_lendervedder/32/8488_2.png) [@Happy\_Lendervedder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Happy_Lendervedder)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1864 "2024-07-19T21:56:38Z")
> [@Smapti](#): > > There are a lot of adjectives that can be used to describe Joe Biden. “Egotistical” is not one of them. Every single person who has ever run for president has to have a continental-sized ego. Joe Biden is hardly some humble servant when it comes to him thinking he’s the best person to run the most powerful nation in the world. ---
**Author:** ![Babale](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/babale/32/15666_2.png) [@Babale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Babale)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1865 "2024-07-19T21:58:17Z")
> [@Aeschines](#): > > Speaking of adults, how often do we hear adults talking as Biden did in the debate? Even a pimply high-schooler in debate club doesn’t get nervous or make mistakes _in that way._ Ehhhh, I have no idea what you mean? Biden sounded like an adult to me. An old adult, maybe a tired adult. But I’m not sure when he “got nervous” or what horrible mistakes he made. Did you watch the debate, or just a set of “SLEEPY JOE DEBATE FAIL” clips? ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 9:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1866 "2024-07-19T21:58:46Z")
Maybe Biden can try plagiarizing a British politician again and use that as an excuse to quit. ---
**Author:** ![Aeschines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aeschines/32/16251_2.png) [@Aeschines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aeschines)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1867 "2024-07-19T22:01:44Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > The debate was hardly a cliff. It _was_ a cliff, since we’d seen Biden stutter and make gaffes in the past, but we had _never_ seen him in such a condition before. In that sense, it was definitely a cliff. > [@](#): > > If anything will damage Biden’s odds of winning, or force him to step down, it isn’t his performance at the debate; it is the way that once again the American Left decides that the best way to react to Trump’s threat is to eat itself as quickly as possible. I’ve dealt with this above, but, again, Biden and his team created the problem by demanding that he debate and putting on a disaster. It is _not_ the fault of the party that has to deal with the shitshow they created. > [@](#): > > Biden had a mild stumble (not because he didn’tsuck at the debate, he did; but debates really don’t matter to this extent), and now half his party is trying to shove him off the cliff while lamenting how sad it is that he tripped. You’re in denial and refusing to see the context. The fascists have been saying forever that Biden was old, senile, and incapable. I myself had thought that was bullshit and was overjoyed when Biden dismissed that narrative with the triumphant SOTU address. I was therefore gobsmacked by Biden’s performance at the debate, in which he _validated completely_ the rightwing narrative (at least in terms of appearances). All Biden had to do was _not suck_ at the debate. Then we simply would not be having this conversation. He and his team fucked up–by hiding Biden’s decline and then putting him in a situation where it would be revealed. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1868 "2024-07-19T22:03:52Z")
> [@Happy\_Lendervedder](#): > > > [@Smapti](#): > > > > There are a lot of adjectives that can be used to describe Joe Biden. “Egotistical” is not one of them. > > Every single person who has ever run for president has to have a continental-sized ego. Joe Biden is hardly some humble servant when it comes to him thinking he’s the best person to run the most powerful nation in the world. Or that ONLY he can beat Trump. I generally agree with @Aeshines that Biden has been displaying a self-centeredness that is not useful for the project of stopping Trump. But I’m convinced that Biden’s image as a weak person is more serious than his image as a selfish person. Too many potential voters are convinced that Biden embodies weakness, while Trump embodies strength. And: > [@MulderMuffin](#): > > The problem is there aren’t enough dedicated, high information voters to carry us over the finish line. The youth vote and the Muslim vote have largely forsaken Joe Biden over Gaza, and they seem to feel that sitting out the vote entirely in protest will get their point across. They won’t add to trump’s numbers, but they won’t help Biden either. **Then there are the people who just don’t feel engaged enough to bother.** They don’t have anything strong against Biden and think trump is kinda squirrelly, but conclude “meh, they both suck, I’m not voting for either of them”. > > **It’s an enthusiasm problem for the Dems**. I am not certain of the solution, but the problem is Biden. ^This. (My bolding in that quote.) ---
**Author:** ![Thing.Fish](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thing.fish/32/9168_2.png) [@Thing.Fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thing.Fish)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2024, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690/1869 "2024-07-19T22:04:30Z")
> [@Babale](#): > > Yeah, I’m not buying it. Maybe you’ve listened to Trump for so long that you’ve forgotten what adults sound like, but that comment was definitely not “childish”. God damn. I’m not sure if American English is your native language, but the specific phrase “I would feel OK because I tried my best” is, as DSeid alluded to, a cliched example of what you would expect a child to say, to the point that most adults wouldn’t use it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690.md?page=92) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/biden-considering-dropping-out-update-biden-drops-out/1003690.md?page=94)