To the editor: It is highly doubtful that former President Trump and President Biden are actually their parties' nominees in November. That's why both parties have potential replacement candidates lurking. (“Why Replacing Biden with Newsom or Some ‘Mythical Perfect Democrat’ Is Unlikely,” February 13)
As Trump's long-running legal challenges continue to mount, he will be increasingly subject to outright disqualification or severely diminished poll numbers. Nikki Haley, despite her lackluster primary showing, remains eager to join any other viable Republican on the party's ultimate ticket without Trump.
It is also unclear whether Biden will remain the Democratic nominee. The big difference: he does not share Trump's selfish motivations for remaining the presumptive nominee of his party.
Therefore, Biden will not hesitate to withdraw if another Democratic candidate has a better chance of prevailing in November. Above all, he does not want the Republican Party to inflict four more years of democracy-destroying chaos that will surely result from the election of Trump or one of his acolytes.
In short, a rematch between Biden and Trump is not a sure bet.
Devra Mindell, Santa Monica
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To the editor: In their op-ed, political scientists Justin Vaughn and Brandon Rottinghaus note that historians consider Biden a top-tier president and rank Trump last.
Now, I'm not a Trumpist, but I also find Biden to be a bad leader. The 2024 elections offer us a terrible choice.
But I am reasonably well educated, read the news, and study the issues and candidates' positions before voting. So excuse me if I make my own decision instead of deferring to “the experts.”
In today's world, an expert is simply someone with an opinion and a platform.
Mike Liewald, Los Alamitos
