MSNBC's Mika Brzezinski on Monday challenged one of the New York Times editors who called on President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race.
The newspaper's editorial board formally called for Biden to step aside after his faltering performance in Thursday night's presidential debate against Donald Trump, and board member Mara Gay justified that position Monday on "Morning Joe."
"Ever since Donald Trump has been in the public eye, we have made clear that this is not a president, a former president, who we supported," Gay said.
"Actually, in our editorial over the past few days, we also made clear that were the election held today, our choice would be obvious, which would be Joe Biden. You know, I understand why that, you know, may have gotten missed, I certainly understand that, but we do believe that the stakes are existential, which Joe Biden himself has made clear.
"It is, in fact, the stakes are so high that the board feels it is so important to have the best chance for democracy with the strongest candidate possible. The hope is that would be President Joe Biden."
Biden remains the presumptive nominee, and Gay said she hopes he wins, but she expressed alarm over how old and feeble he appeared during the debate.
"I know who I'm voting for – that's an easy decision," Gay said. "I believe the American people, I hope, would coalesce around that, but we also have to be clear and honest with ourselves about what we saw the other night. It is not the same Joe Biden we saw four years ago. I think reasonable people can say we saw this with our eyes."
"He has come from behind again and again," she added. "When he's fallen, he's gotten up. His family story, personal story, that's all inspiring to me. The thing that is the most inspirational, though, is that he has always known how and when to put country before himself, and we believe that, in this moment, that public service he needs to do right now, the best thing he could do would be to step down and to allow a very deep bench of younger talent in the party waiting in the wings to emerge."
Gay praised the president's record so far, but she said his apparent age-related decline was worrying, and Brzezinski pushed back.
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"I think of all the different opportunities editorial boards across the board could have told Donald Trump to resign or drop out and take that bold step," Brzezinski said. "Yes, he is 81. He is definitely not the man he was four years ago or 10 years ago — people age. Age is not the end of the world. Age actually, in some ways, can be valued.
"We can look at what Joe Biden has done in this presidency, and we can thank his age, his knowledge, not only from the work he's done but from his failures in life, from his setbacks in life. You become strong, you become wise, you have perspective. But age, I would argue, needs to be managed, and it needs to be dealt with in a way that is accepting of this process."
"I celebrate age, I do," Brzezinski added. "I want to hear from Joe Biden about his age. I don't want to hear from editorial boards who have missed the massive story on the other side or just seem so inured to it. I see another version of the end of the world, and it is what they're calling for."
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