The NYT editorial board presents itself as like a wise adjunct group of strategists advising Democrats how to run their shop, but (a) it’s run and largely staffed by de facto Republican operatives and (b) it has no similar paternalistic scrutiny for Republicans.
In Opinion
The greatest public service President Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not run for re-election, the editorial board writes after Thursday's presidential debate.
"The worst candidate in the history of the universe might win the election in between his many criminal trials, so the guy who stutters had better get the hell out of here now."
Guys who hated Biden want Biden to drop out. Jesus, how is anyone falling for this?
Having the incumbent drop out now with 5 months to go is fucking asinine.
This is... very silly. I dislike the NYT as much as anyone, but, like...
"The police are failing to catch the killer, the chief should resign."
"Oh but why aren't you asking the killer to resign huh?"
they are both running for the highest office in the country. they are both seeking to control the most powerful military in the history of the world. one of them is old. one of them is a sex offender, serial business cheat, bigoted, felon who cannot distinguish between fiction and reality
they used the voice of the fucking paper to call on one of these two men to resign. they breathlessly cover the other in often fawning terms and give a criminal accomplice (maga habbs) top billing.
Also that implies an asymmetry that isn’t valid. There are two comparable political parties that should be held to comparable standards. Of course we should hold a police chief to a different standard than a wanted killer.
Donald Trump running around with a gas can and a lit match. Joe Biden trying to catch and stop him, but he's a bit old and slow.
NYT Editorial Board: Clearly the problem here is Joe Biden.
The constant expectation that Reps will act like arsonist sociopathic toddlers (but must be treated seriously as important partners for negotiation and cannot be expected to improve)
whereas Dems should fall on their swords immediately because bad optics
is starting to wear awfully thin.
The tacit assumption behind this is the NY Times regards itself to be in the Democratic in-group and has license to speak this way to Democrats and Democratic voters
Republicans are the out-group so are beyond its ken (this is also why they cover Republicans like sophomore-level anthropologists)
They act like Biden is not already the president. Can they identify any specific substantive way his presidency or the administration of the United States government has faltered since 2021 because Joe Biden bears the attributes of an old man? Anything on which Donald Trump would be better?
Oh, please! 🙄
All TFG is good at, is failing!
On top of that, he has no redeeming qualities whatsoever! He is irretrievably stupid, but insists he knows everything better than the experts! He is an embarrassment!
"And we're fine with that because it sells more newspapers than a relatively staid, quiet, uncontroversial presidency despite our nigh-incessant drive to foment anger and anxiety amongst the rubes who believe that we represent anything more than moneyed elites who resent them."
"If the race comes down to a choice between Mr. Trump and Mr. Biden, the sitting president would be this board’s unequivocal pick. "
That... is the choice....
At present, but it can be changed before being formalized at the convention.
Just like the GOP could change their choice in the unlikely event that Trump is sentenced to prison next month (which will be just before their convention).
The unlikely event that a selected candidate for the presidency is convicted as a felon for acts during his first election, is on trial for further criminal acts in and after office, has occurred and they are not changing their candidate, but otherwise I am sure it is a useful analogy.
It's not an analogy.
I think it's unlikely Trump is in prison before the convention partly because the judge may be reluctant to impose a custodial sentence, but mostly because file a blizzard of appeals and injunctions if he does (which he should).
You posed an analogy by any regular definition of the term. Not really contesting whether Trump would be jailed in the time-frame but he has been convicted and is a felon in the relevant period yet on they march with a manifestly unfit candidate.
It's not an analogy. I'm just pointing out that the nomination in either party is not legally official until the state delegates vote at the national convention.
I agree with you on the wider thing, the GOP is an unsalvageable cult at this point and needs to be destroyed.
Appealing to Trump to do the right thing has proven time and again to be a complete waste of time and only feeds into his personality cult. It unambiguously says he should not be President.
"We'd all really appreciate it if you could see your way clear to not fomenting a violent insurrection a second time. But only if it's not too much trouble or anything."
The conclusion of that piece is unequivocally not a call for Trump to drop out – just that he (and the rest of us) should accept the outcome of the election.
Really? "It is a tragedy that Republicans themselves are not engaged in deeper soul-searching after Thursday’s debate. Mr. Trump’s own performance ought to be regarded as disqualifying."
This seems pointlessly forensic, like arguing that someone who says 'leopards are dangerous and may eat your face' has failed to ask leopards to give up on the whole face-eating thing.
The critique of Biden here is not of his morals or policies, but of his ability to manage & lead a campaign.
No, the NYT wants Trump to run because he is such a flawed candidate, he is easy to beat.
This is the NYT sounding the alarm that Biden is no longer the person to beat him.
I would listen to the NYT and not dismiss them so flippantly.
But the reality is that many voters want a President that projects strength. I’m an idealist too but in these circumstances I think it’s crucial to be realistic.
This. Biden beats Trump in terms of morals, integrity, policy, and likeability. He's achieved a lot, I admire him for that. He even landed some good punches on Trump last night.
But that doesn't make up for him glitching out repeatedly. It's a stark and sad contrast with how he was in 2020.
"An old man with a cold has NOT consented to sit on his old-ass ass for an interview with this paper. We suggest in the strongest possible terms he do so. Then we'll tell you why he should step down."
Great point. 34 times convicted felon who delivers word salad everytime he speaks and suggested people drink bleach is ok to run but Biden has ONE bad debate and it's all over? I don't think so. I'm for Biden.
I wonder if either the Times or WaPo considered the precedent set by George McGovern, who - after it was discovered that Tom Eagleton had (gasp!) undergone treatment for depression - decided to replace him with Sargent Shriver. That went well... {checks notes...} Ohhhhh...
