NY Times columnists call on Biden to drop out after debate

Several leading columnists for The New York Times are urging President Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race, citing his poor performance during Thursday night's debate against former President Trump.

"President Biden is a good man who capped a long career in public service with a successful presidential term. But I hope he reviews his debate performance Thursday evening and withdraws from the race, throwing the choice of a Democratic nominee to the convention in August," Times columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote.

Biden's disastrous debate performance "didn’t put to rest the doubts about his age and effectiveness," Kristof wrote, calling it a "wrenching choice" for the president but arguing it would be "the safest course for our nation."

Thomas Friedman, another Times columnist who has written about his friendship with Biden, struck a similar tone.

"I cannot remember a more heartbreaking moment in American presidential campaign politics in my lifetime," he wrote, saying Biden, "a good man and a good president, has no business running for re-election."

If Biden is to drop out, he would "be remembered as among the better presidencies in our history," Friedman argued.

"If he insists on running and he loses to Trump, Biden and his family — and his staff and party members who enabled him — will not be able to show their faces," he concluded. "They deserve better. America needs better. The world needs better."