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Joe Biden reportedly more open to calls for him to step aside as candidate (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 5 months ago by girlfreddy@lemmy.ca to c/news@lemmy.world

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Joe Biden has reportedly become more open in recent days to hearing arguments that he should step aside as the Democratic presidential candidate after the party’s two main congressional leaders told him they doubted his ability to beat Donald Trump.

While continuing to insist he will be the party’s nominee in November, the president has reportedly started asking questions about negative polling data and whether Vice-President Kamala Harris, considered the favourite to replace him if were to withdraw, fares better.

The indications of a possible rethink come after Biden tested positive on Wednesday for Covid-19, forcing him to isolate for several days while curtailing a campaigning visit to Nevada that had been part of a drive to show his candidacy was very much alive.

It also coincides with fresh polling data showing that he now trails Trump by two points in Virginia, a state he won by 10 points in 2020.

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[-] andyburke@fedia.io 161 points 5 months ago

Open the convention.

All the news coverage about who the democratic nominee will be has been and will sap the life blood of Trump's campaign: coverage.

When they aren't paying attention to him, he becomes ever more unhinged and his mask slips even more.

Chaos in the democratic party can work for us for once.

[-] Tom_Hanx_Hail_Satan@lemmy.ca 30 points 5 months ago

100% agree with this sentiment. 1 day debate, 2nd or third day, delegate vote. Imagine a national conversation where the cornerstone is about the policies of the democratic platform. Compare them to the policies of the GOP. That will be a huge W for the party, especially down ticket.

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[-] Pronell@lemmy.world 77 points 5 months ago

I do wonder how a Kamala Harris / AOC ticket would go.

Probably not well given how racist and misogynistic this country is. But it would energize many people.

[-] nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 61 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Few things would energize me more. Biden would have gotten a begrudging vote from me at most. If youre going to slot AOC into the VP pick, I will estatically take 4 years of Kamala. To me there are few if any better investments in the political health of the country than VP AOC.

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[-] jws_shadotak@sh.itjust.works 16 points 5 months ago

I think that would be too far left and you'd lose centrist votes

[-] nondescripthandle@lemmy.dbzer0.com 42 points 5 months ago

Vote blue no matter who? Or was that phrase just a cudgle against progressives?

[-] PugJesus@lemmy.world 28 points 5 months ago

You do realize there's more to the electorate than just dedicated Dem voters, right?

Just because we'll be telling people to "vote Blue no matter who" doesn't mean they'll necessarily do it.

[-] SkybreakerEngineer@lemmy.world 25 points 5 months ago

You mean the "unions are communist propaganda but I like to call myself independent" crowd?

[-] PugJesus@lemmy.world 22 points 5 months ago

In part. There are even more bizarre types. I know strong union supporters who vote Republican, but have positive opinions on Bernie. I know liberal voters who voted Trump in 2016 to 'shake things up' (I am not very close with them, for obvious reasons). Many people in this country do not have a coherent ideology they vote by, and are swayed by many small factors.

[-] Omegamanthethird@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago

It's a lot harder to shame centrists into doing the right thing.

Progressives have to stomach what they know is best for the country, even though they don't think it's good enough.

Centrists by definition aren't committed to what's best for the country.

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[-] NOT_RICK@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

You can want a very Progressive candidate and acknowledge that you need to win the middle of the electorate in first past the post voting systems at the same time

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[-] foggy@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Kamala and Bernie

Let Bernie in the oval office. Nobody deserves it more than him. He's too old for pres, but God damn would he get shit done between inauguration as vp and his grave...

[-] Pronell@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

I'd be perfectly happy with that. I've even got a cat named Bernie Sanders.

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[-] Maggoty@lemmy.world 50 points 5 months ago

I'm really worried about his campaign and white house staff at this point. It seems like it took the in person interviewers telling him about the bad polling. Like he looked genuinely surprised to hear about it.

If that's true they need to go. We cannot have staff that lie to the president.

[-] girlfreddy@lemmy.ca 11 points 5 months ago

Staff fudge the truth to bosses all the time. The issue doesn't lie with the staff because it is the boss' responsibility to understand the power disparity and do their best to mitigate it.

The way to do that is have a small contingent of 2-3 people who will ALWAYS tell the truth to the boss no matter what.

But again, that willingness to hear the truth and have those people around starts with the boss. And if they just want yes men around, that's what will happen.

[-] turmacar@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

Not even counting the debate the man has straight up asked for people that have died during press conferences and mixed up Putin and Zelenskyy. I don't think it's out of line to question how much of policy and press releases he's cognizant of, much less staffing decisions. Even if they are updating him about polling data he may not be processing it. I have a 94 yr old grandpa with a live in nurse and a 80 year old aunt in hospice (different sides of the family) and the disorientation is disturbingly familiar.

It seems insane to bet that he will have 4 more high pressure years to give. Or betting on him making it long enough for a VP to take over. RBG should be a warning, not a template.

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[-] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 45 points 5 months ago

If Harris was super serious about beating Trump, she couldn't pick an easier race than a run with Bernie Sanders. Imagine how energized the left would be. Ahh.

...In other shit that will never happen news, Trump enjoyed a joke at his own expense at a salad bar.

[-] SayJess@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 5 months ago

...In other shit that will never happen news, Trump enjoyed a joke at his own expense at a salad bar.

That was fucking great

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[-] homesweethomeMrL@lemmy.world 35 points 5 months ago

Whitmer / AOC 2024. This time it’s personal.

“In a world . . . “

[-] mlg@lemmy.world 11 points 5 months ago

One can dream

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[-] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 35 points 5 months ago

Calling it now: He's slowly working up to dropping out without "losing face"

Step one: Casually mention in an interview that you'd consider dropping if a health reason popped up. Step two: Coincidentally, get a health issue shortly afterwards. Step three: Casually make it known that you're "more open" to call to step aside.

It's not a coincidence that he got COVID and made the health comment within a day of each other. I'm not saying he doesn't have COVID. I'm saying he and his team knew about earlier than they announced it, and decided to drop that nugget in an interview beforehand in order to pave the way.

[-] Zeke@fedia.io 15 points 5 months ago

I mean it could be a coincidence though. Biden is religious and it's likely that he'd see getting sick immediately after saying something like that as a sign.

[-] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 17 points 5 months ago

Biden is religious

I'm a cynical bastard who's convinced that no politician is truly religious any more than they need to be to keep up appearances to the voters.

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[-] TheReturnOfPEB@reddthat.com 32 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Biden has spent nearly his entire life in service to this country.

We owe Biden a chance to enjoy his life.

[-] andyburke@fedia.io 25 points 5 months ago

Yes, he should retire and enjoy his twilight without the stress of the presidency.

[-] irotsoma@lemmy.world 25 points 5 months ago

The only way for the Dems to win is either to put a woman up for election and have her push hard for abortion rights and talk about nothing else so her conservative politics don't push away the majority of non-Republicans, like Hillary did, or put up someone left of center for once and give the people who are tired of voting for the lesser evil a chance to be excited for a candidate. But that's unlikely.

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[-] PugJesus@lemmy.world 23 points 5 months ago

He needs to step down. There's no other way forward at the moment that improves our chances that I can see.

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[-] aseriesoftubes@lemmy.world 20 points 5 months ago* (last edited 4 months ago)

~~I’m holding out hope for Newsom. The unfortunate truth is that too many Americans are racist and/or sexist, and the combination of those factors could sink Harris (who, it should be said, I would happily vote for).~~

~~There are a lot of people out there who are desperate to vote for someone who isn’t Biden or Trump. The buzz and excitement generated by an entirely new ticket (Newsom-Whitmer?) would blow Trump out of the water.~~

My stupid hot take was stupid. I am fully coconut pilled.

[-] proudblond@lemmy.world 15 points 5 months ago

As a Californian, I’m always surprised when people think Newsom has a chance. Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t say I’m a fan but I think he’s done a lot of good (just wish he’d distance himself from PG&E especially) but I always rather assumed that in today’s political climate, anyone from California is considered toxic. Is that not the case?

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[-] scaredoftrumpwinning@lemmy.world 17 points 5 months ago

I'm still hoping for the scenario were Biden wins and AOC, pelosi or some other woman becomes speaker of the house and Biden steps down early on to see the GOP collectively loose their shit as they have both a woman for president and VP.

[-] graymess@lemmy.world 13 points 5 months ago

Jesus christ, please not fucking Pelosi.

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[-] Quill7513@slrpnk.net 15 points 5 months ago

If we can come up with a cohesive plan that works, great. I just don't understand why the democrat leadership didn't even try having this conversation before the primaries. Being the president is a bummer. You have to be a truly sad person to even want the position. I'm not stunned at all to hear Biden would feel cooperative with a movement that let's him just kick back in a rocking chair and enjoy the time he has left.

[-] PugJesus@lemmy.world 20 points 5 months ago

I just don’t understand why the democrat leadership didn’t even try having this conversation before the primaries.

They may have tried in private, but "The incumbent has an advantage, and we need every advantage we can get" is compelling conventional political wisdom.

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[-] Bluefalcon@discuss.tchncs.de 12 points 5 months ago

Biden's domestic policies have been great for the American people. His international ones have been a major mix bag. Palestine is his internment of Japanese moment. Biden's legacy will be an interesting one. Just like FDR, he will be a polarizing figure.

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this post was submitted on 18 Jul 2024

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