Democrats are in turmoil right now, divided over whether President Biden should stay in the race after his disastrous debate last month or clear the way for another, younger candidate.
Biden’s shaky performance has raised concerns about whether he can win in November and prompted calls from prominent Democrats, columnists and others for him to step aside. It’s up to the Democratic Party to sort this out. But it’s time to refocus attention on the one candidate in the race who is patently unfit for office — any office — and a looming threat to democracy: Donald Trump.
It is incredible that the nation is spending so much time on the question of Biden’s verbal wit, when the greater concern should be that his rival is a self-centered criminal and election denier who has been impeached twice. Trump fomented the January 6 insurrection, shows contempt for the rule of law and lies through his teeth in pursuit of more power. He is an authoritarian who admires murderous despots, wants to jail his political enemies and has publicly flirted with the idea of declaring himself a dictator on his first day back in office.
With the fervent support of the Republican Party, he promotes cruelty, racism and misogyny, demonizing immigrants as “poisoners of the blood of our country,” degrading the appearance and intelligence of women and using disgustingly fascist language to criticize his opponents as “vermin.” This is a man who lied about his wealth for years to evade his taxes, whose business was convicted of criminal tax fraud and who has been denounced by many former aides and cabinet members as a “malignant narcissist” that recklessly puts itself ahead of the American people.
Trump is the only man in the presidential race who is manifestly unworthy of holding a position of power and has no business ever returning to the White House. If the Republican Party had any decency left, its members would be debating whether to replace Trump with a candidate who is not bent on tearing down democratic institutions in favor of autocracy.
Voters should avoid viewing this race through the lens of the usual politics of past elections. This November is not about clashing personalities, moderate political differences, or, as some might see it, an 81-year-old man who is the lesser of two evils compared to a 78-year-old man. It is nothing less than a referendum on our 248-year-old democracy and a choice between a trusted public servant who stands for American values and a serial liar who wants to push the country toward authoritarianism.
Democratic Party leaders must put aside the self-defeating debate over Biden’s suitability and decide whether to replace him or unite around him. And Americans must start hearing more about how the backgrounds, positions and character of Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and any of the prominent Democrats being tossed around as possible replacements make them unquestionably superior to Trump.
