In the early days after my contentious 2014 primary race for the US House of Representatives, when the party establishment had lined up against me, I felt like an outcast even though I had won. Then-Vice President Joe Biden showed up. He held a big rally for my general election campaign in Lynn, and I have treasured him as a mentor and friend ever since.
Perhaps he saw a little of himself in a young upstart taking on an entrenched incumbent. That’s how he won his first race, too.
The next year, after I had won the general election, he would invite me to breakfast at the vice president’s house and teach me about Congress. Sometimes he would pick up the phone to comment on a TV interview. Every time we crossed paths and I caught his eye, he would break into that big, wide Joe Biden grin and say how glad he was to see me. It was like that just last Christmas at the White House Ball.
More recently, I saw him in a small group at Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day. For the first time, he didn’t seem to recognize me. Of course, that can happen as anyone ages, but as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem.
It was a crushing realization, and not because a person I care about had a rough night but because everything is riding on Biden’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November.
America needs him to win and, like most Americans, I’m no longer confident that he can. The president should bow out of the race.
If anything the stakes are now even higher, and the urgency greater.
The assassination attempt on Trump last weekend makes him even harder to beat, and it makes prosecuting the case about why he is a danger to democracy more tricky — though no less essential — because the wrong word choice can quickly be used against you.
And while the shooting shifted the national conversation for now, what hasn’t changed are these basic facts: Biden is trailing Trump in critical swing states, and he has yet to show us that he is willing or able to change his strategy.
He had already served a full term in the Senate when I was born in 1978, and in his 52 years in public life, he has rivaled giants like Lyndon Johnson in what he has accomplished for America and the Democratic Party. We live in incredibly polarizing times, and yet Biden has passed big, bipartisan legislation, like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Chips and Science Act.
He also saved the Republic from Trump in 2020. He has earned an amazing legacy, and that’s why I hope he will follow in the footsteps of another president who saved our Republic, George Washington, and be remembered not just for serving as our commander-in-chief but also for giving it up.
The harsh reality is that all the characteristics that have made Biden an irrepressible force — the energy, the vitality, the sharp, scrappy wit — are flickering.
Of course, Trump is almost as old and never had Biden’s strengths to begin with. His debate performance was coherent only when he was lying. My Republican friends admit as much, in private.
But just as Republicans need to find the courage to speak out against Trump, my fellow Democrats need to find the courage to speak the truth about President Biden before it’s too late.
We have a choice to make. To my colleagues who are deeply concerned but who haven’t said so publicly: Let’s demonstrate the courageous, forward-looking leadership that Americans tell us they want in their politics and rob the Trump-Vance ticket of the opponent they want.
This is not Democrats in disarray, as critics might say. This is a huge opportunity for our party. It’s an opportunity to respond to the overwhelming majority of Americans who don’t want to be stuck with the same two candidates we had in 2020. Yes, it has been an uncomfortable couple of weeks, but this will make us stronger. Our system is designed for challenges like this.
My introduction to public service wasn’t in politics but in the Marines. A well-worn Marine phrase, which gets drilled into you all the time, is “It’s not about you.”
I can only imagine how hard it will be for Biden to give up the chance for four more years in a job that he loves and that he has mastered. But this isn’t about you, Mr. President. It’s about our best chance to win an election against a narcissistic liar and convicted felon who will jeopardize our national security and make life worse for ordinary Americans.
This is bigger than one president or one party. It’s about America. Let’s win this election, Mr. President, and in the process, ensure you have the legacy you deserve from a lifetime of service to our country.
Seth Moulton represents Massachusetts’ Sixth Congressional District.
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