Biden Did What Trump Would Never Do
Photo Credit: Defense Visual Information Distribution Service. https://www.dvidshub.net/
It has been quite a month for the Democratic party. After Biden’s disastrous debate performance in which he appeared to be cognitively impaired, subsequent uprising within his own party urging him to drop out of the race, serious charges of document mishandling by Trump being summarily dismissed, an assassination attempt that cast Trump as the hero of his own action movie, and a triumphant Republican National Convention, the month culminated with Biden announcing he would not seek reelection with just over 100 days for Kamala Harris, his endorsed replacement and presumptive nominee, to organize a successful campaign. Tough time for the Democrats.
It’s difficult to identify an historical precedent anything close to everything that happened in July. That said, it also answers half the question I and many other Americans have had during this entire presidential campaign cycle:
How did we get here?
Is this really the best we can do, where our choice for President of the United States is between senility and criminality? A Gallup poll in April found that 29% of voters (and 42% of independent voters) felt neither Biden nor Trump would be a good president.
Only one party has done something about that.
Before continuing, I should clarify that, while I’m a registered Democrat, I consider myself a moderate. I have worked on Capitol Hill for both a Republican and a Democrat. Like many centrist Americans, I’m socially progressive but financially conservative. I am a firm believer in women’s right to choose, LGBTQIA+ rights, and equality for all Americans regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, disability or any other dimension. I’m also a firm believer in reduced deficit spending, a balanced budget, smaller government, and lower taxes (specifically, a more equitable tax structure). I believe corporations drive our economy, create jobs, and incentivize innovation, but also avoid paying their fair share and create vast wealth inequality that has gone unchecked. I believe investing in education, job training, health care, and child care are investments in our collective prosperity, but need to be structured in a way we can afford. And I believe many of our biggest challenges can be addressed with common-sense, centrist policies that the majority of Americans support, rather than the extremist policies and rhetoric that characterize our polarized political climate.
Back to the election, as messy, tardy, and tumultuous as the transition from Biden to Harris at the top of the Democratic ticket has been, at least it happened. Prominent elected Democrats and top progressive donors felt they could express their concerns about Biden without fear of recrimination. Biden, for his part, heard the criticism and made what was undoubtedly the toughest decision of his political career to do what is right for his party and his country and step down.
Contrast that with Trump. Privately, many Republicans from party leadership to average voters have deep concerns about Trump as the Republican candidate. According to Pew Research, 59% of registered voters lack confidence that Trump would act ethically in office. Trump lost the 2020 election, incited an insurrection in the aftermath of his defeat, and has been convicted of a felony with more criminal cases on the horizon. Any one of these realities would have long ago torpedoed the prospects of any other presidential candidate in history. They would have done the honorable thing and dropped out. Bowed to a new candidate. Passed the torch to a next generation.
Yet, can anyone ever in a million years imagine Trump dropping out of the race?
Not only do Trump’s enormous ego, pathological narcissism, and complete lack of integrity make such a move unfathomable, but any suggestion of it would be relentlessly ridiculed by Trump and his sycophantic followers. The Republican party has been caught in the clutches of the Trump cult of personality for too long. Held hostage by the fear that he is their best hope of victory, the best way to mobilize their base, the best cover for a party platform that is deeply unpopular—and that may be the case. Yet, no one within Republican leadership would dare voice their concerns about Trump. Dissent is mercilessly punished. Those who act with integrity rather than loyalty are excommunicated. That is the definition of autocracy.
Democracy is messy sometimes. It requires disagreement and compromise. But the defining trait of the American experiment is that our leaders derive their power from the people, not through fear, taunts, and threats. It’s too early to know if the voters who wanted neither Biden nor Trump will turn to Harris as the alternative. Most polls so far show Trump still leading. But the Republican Party deserves a candidate at the top of the ticket who represents true conservative values in every regard and conducts themselves with integrity, respect, and honor always. And the American people deserve a choice between ideas, not egos.