Democrats must force Biden to be a lame duck

The political debate between the two US presidential candidates on 27 June made it clear that Joe Biden is not presidential. The debate showed Biden at his most clueless, confused and incapable of maintaining a clear and coherent discourse. The country that claims to continue to lead the liberal-democratic world, and which also possesses the largest conventional and nuclear military arsenal in human history, cannot afford to have a leadership that conveys such insecurity in its cognitive abilities.

Donald Trump and Joe Biden on the debate stage on 27 June.

In these elections, the democratic model in the United States, and in the rest of the world, is once again at risk because of the influence it projects as a hegemon. The two options presented by the two-party US leadership do not bode well. The choice is between a 78-year-old convicted felon who has attempted a coup d'état and threatens to purge the administration of all fairness and an 81-year-old man who has trouble finding his way around and is rapidly deteriorating physically and mentally. This shows that the establishment of both parties have failed miserably to offer a generational alternative. The US political landscape resembles the Soviet gerontocracy in its final years, when the average age of the Politburo (the highest governing body in the USSR) in the 1980s was 69.

The power of deterrence relies heavily on the shadow that leadership is able to cast. A leader perceived as weak emboldens adversaries to act against him, as well as creating distrust in allies. Undoubtedly the disastrous and uncoordinated US and allied exit from Afghanistan in 2021, coupled with the perception that the Biden Administration was internally weak after the 6 January 2021 coup attempt and other factors, precipitated Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

The factor of the advanced age of both candidates, both above the average life expectancy of white men in the US of around 77, makes the question of succession more relevant than ever. Whoever wins the presidential election, the chances of them finishing their second term are not guaranteed. On the one hand, as of 2 July we know that Kamala Harris will repeat as vice-presidential candidate, but in Trump's case it remains a mystery. Given the precedent of Trump sending the 6 January mob to hang his VP Mike Pence as a ‘traitor’ for validating the 2020 election results, it is likely that he will choose a loyalist with fewer lights than a drifting narco-boat.

Trump supporters near the Capitol in January 2021

That is why it is urgent for the Democratic Party to put forward a viable candidate to replace Biden. The election is four months away and the timing is not ideal, but nevertheless the debate performance demonstrated to Americans and the world that the current president is not the right man for the job. The electoral and reputational damage to the Democrats of forcing a change of candidate will be far less than that of fielding a candidate with signs of senility. For much of progressive (liberal) public and published opinion, Joe Biden is already a lame duck (for more on the concept: What is a Lame Duck?). As a politician he has already served his useful life and it has been an extensive one (more than 50 years) and full of triumphs. However, given his physical and mental state, he needs to be quickly replaced with someone capable of dealing with the threat to democracy that Trump represents. At stake in this election is something more important than the ego of a person who should be enjoying his long-deserved retirement.