Following a debate performance from President Joe Biden that failed to solidify his ability to defeat ex-President Donald Trump in November, several newspapers and Democratic leaders have called on the president to end his re-election bid — but one conservative is shutting those calls down.
Anti-Trump Lincoln Project adviser and former Republican consultant Stuart Stevens, in a Sunday op-ed published by the New York Times, argues, "For all the talk of Mr. Biden’s off night, what is lost is that Mr. Trump missed a great opportunity to reset his candidacy and greatly strengthen his position."
Stevens is baffled by many Democratic leaders' failure "to rally around a wildly successful president after one bad night."
He writes:
Is this how Americans see themselves? When we watch the American flag carried at the Olympics in Paris, are we to feel ashamed, not proud? When Ronald Reagan was president, he believed that to be born in America was to win life’s lottery. Now, in Trump’s America, are we victims, chumps, losers?
I don’t think so. Mr. Trump has difficulty expanding his base because most Americans are still proud to be Americans. Most Americans do not wake up mad at the world, fearful to go outside their homes. What is it that you are supposed to hate the most — the record-high stock market or low unemployment?
The veteran GOP consultant also argues:
The Republican Party is at war with the modern world, and it is losing. What happened when Republicans attacked Nike for its endorsement deal with Colin Kaepernick? Nike made a fortune. How is it possible to get in a fight with Disney, the happiness company? This is a party that thought it was a good idea to go after Taylor Swift when it was already suffering from problems with female voters over the death of Roe. Seriously?
While Biden may have stumbled, Stuart points out that his opponent "unleashed a virulent anti-American rant," proving, "The America he lives in is a postapocalyptic hellscape of violence, with people 'dying all over the place' — more 'Mad Max' than 'morning in America.'"
Stuart emphasizes, "My one plea to my new friends abandoning Mr. Biden is simple: Suck it up and fight. It’s not supposed to be easy."
Stuart's full op-ed is available here (subscription required).
