1/ I'm agnostic as to whether Biden should withdraw from the race. It's a genuinely tough question IMO.
But I have clarity on one thing: He should absolutely not step down as president.
If Harris becomes President, the Vice Presidency is empty. Under the 25th Amendment ...
2/ ... confirming a new VP requires majority votes in the House and the Senate.
If there is no VP, then Mike Johnson is next in line to the presidency. I think there's a very good argument that the House would not confirm anyone Harris nominated as VP.
3/ We are in a moment of high and rising political violence. ~ 9% of all US presidents have been assassinated, and ~ 13% have been either killed or wounded in an assassination attempt.
4/ Add in the fact that Harris would be the first woman president and only second president of color and it gets scarier. Add in that her replacement would be from the other party and it starts to look like an invitation to assassination attempts.
5/5 If Biden decides to withdraw, he should just say something like, "Being president is a full-time job. Campaigning for the presidency is a full-time job. I'm too old to work two jobs, so I'm going to focus on the one I was elected to do. Vote Harris in November!"
I don’t think Biden saying that he’s not competent enough to campaign, but is totally able to be the President of the fucking United States will win the Ds any votes.
