Joe Biden met with Democratic governors recently as the president faces “increasingly concerning polls and growing calls to withdraw his candidacy” following a “calamitous debate performance” against Donald Trump, say Robert Tait and Sam Levin in The Guardian.
Biden has blamed his “garbled” and “low energy” performance on jet lag from international travel, but there are reportedly 25 Democratic members of the House of Representatives preparing to call for Biden to step aside, and one Texas congressman already demanding that he stand down. Polls suggest that one in three Democrats think Biden should go.
What would Joe Biden leaving mean for the Democrats?
Replacing Biden might not provide the electoral boost that Democrats are hoping for, says David Charter in The Times. Even the poll showing that many Democrats want him to quit revealed that no prominent elected Democrat would do any better against Trump, although former first lady Michelle Obama did have a large hypothetical lead. Interestingly, the poll also found that Biden’s “disastrous” and “stumbling” debate performance hadn’t harmed him as much as many think – Biden and Trump “remain neck and neck among all registered voters”.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
There is no good option now for Democrats, says Janan Ganesh in the Financial Times. If they choose someone else to run, they are essentially saying: “We tried our utmost to sneak an untenable candidate past you but the scrutiny of a live television debate foiled us. Ah well, here’s his replacement.” But letting him run would be worse, as his age-related “glitches of speech and manner, glaring enough already”, are only likely to get worse.
Some 72% of registered voters think he hasn’t the wherewithal to be president. The Democrat failing to find a replacement for Biden, which should have begun as soon as he was elected, is of a piece with the modern left: whenever it becomes obvious that something must be done, they find a way to avoid doing it.
Where is Donald Trump in the race?
While Biden was struggling to finish his sentences and stay in the race, the Supreme Court dealt a “major blow” to one of the efforts to prosecute Donald Trump for election interference, says Jess Bravin in The Wall Street Journal. The court ruled that former presidents “enjoy sweeping immunity” for official acts while in office.
Lower courts will now have to draw the boundaries between what counts as official and unofficial, but the ruling pushes the trial beyond the November election. It’s been accepted for decades “that a president is immune from civil liability for actions taken in office”, says an editorial in the Financial Times.
But the court has now extended that principle, arguing that an “energetic, independent” executive should not be deterred from taking necessary action by concerns over potential criminal prosecution after leaving office. The court’s ruling shunts responsibility for holding the president to account to the Senate and House of Representatives.
But by prioritising an “energetic” presidency over an accountable one, “the court’s conservative justices have chipped away at a central pillar of the American system”.
This article was first published in MoneyWeek's magazine. Enjoy exclusive early access to news, opinion and analysis from our team of financial experts with a MoneyWeek subscription.
-
Highest value stocks and shares ISAs worth 17 times more than cashAhead of potential ISA reforms in the Budget, new FOI data highlights the significant gap between saving and investing your yearly tax-free allowance
-
1 million pensioners relying solely on state pension face £1.4k shortfallThe shortfall between the ‘minimum’ required for Pensions UK’s basic Retirement Living Standards and the full new state pension will be thrust into the spotlight on Saturday
-
Defeat into victory: the key to Next CEO Simon Wolfson's successOpinion Next CEO Simon Wolfson claims he owes his success to a book on military strategy in World War II. What lessons does it hold, and how did he apply them to Next?
-
How to find value in Asian small cap stocksThree competing Asian investment trusts all have good records, but this one is the obvious choice at present, says Max King
-
The battle of the bond markets and public financesAn obsessive focus on short-term fiscal prudence is likely to create even greater risks in a few years, says Cris Sholto Heaton
-
'Rachel Reeves’s tax rise will crash the economy'Opinion Rachel Reeves will be the first chancellor since Denis Healey in the 1970s to raise income tax. It will only push Britain into recession, says Matthew Lynn
-
Cringe Britannia: the decline of the UK's soft powerBritain has long wielded soft power through its commitment to sound political values and the export of high and popular culture. That is now under threat
-
'We still live in Alan Greenspan’s shadow'When MoneyWeek launched 25 years ago, Alan Greenspan was chairman of the Federal Reserve. We’re still living with the consequences of the whirlwind he sowed
-
Go for growth: how to invest in emerging marketsDeveloping countries offer investors compelling long-term economic prospects, says David Prosser
-
Isaac Newton's golden legacy – how the English polymath created the gold standard by accidentIsaac Newton brought about a new global economic era by accident, says Dominic Frisby
