The biggest question to arise from the debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden is "Will Joe Biden drop out?"
The left was so shellshocked by Biden's devastating performance that the calls for him to drop out came from all over. The usual Biden-loving media didn't even try to sugarcoat the train wreck the nation watched in real-time. For sure, it seems that the chances of Biden dropping out are the highest they've ever been. But, what are the chances that Biden actually drops out?
One huge development since the debate ended is that the New York Times editorial board is calling on him to step aside.
“Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address a range of long-term challenges, and the wounds ripped open by Mr. Trump have begun to heal,” the editorial board claimed, without evidence. “But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election.”
The post-debate spin from the Biden campaign is hilarious, yet it suggests that, as far as the Biden campaign is concerned, Ol' Joe isn't going anywhere. But, can we really trust what the campaign is saying right now? I'm not so sure. The campaign's response is exactly what you'd expect. The chances are zero as far as they're concerned. Even Biden has weighed in.
“I think we did well,” Biden told a reporter about the debate.
“Do you have any concerns that you’re not fit for the job, about your voice, your performance tonight—do you have any concerns about your performance?” the reporter asked.
“No,” Biden said. “It’s hard to debate a liar. New York Times pointed out how he lied 26 times. Big lies.”
It sure sounds like the Biden campaign is shrugging off Biden's disastrous debate performance, and has every intention of continuing to run.
Others have different views. For example, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) thinks it's very likely he'll be replaced.
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As Rebecca Downs at our sister site Townhall noted, last September, Ted Cruz estimated a 25-30 percent chance that Biden would not be the Democratic nominee. By February, following Special Counsel Robert Hur's decision not to charge Biden due to his age, Cruz raised the odds to 50 percent. Now, Cruz believes there's an 80 percent chance Biden won't be the nominee.
As recently as January, Cruz said that it is too late to replace Joe Biden... with one caveat.
"At this point, we're sitting here in January; it's too late for Joe Biden not to run, so he's gonna run; he's on the ballot," which "means the only opportunity for the Democrats to pull Biden is at their convention this summer."
Cruz and his co-host Ben Ferguson recorded the latest episode of their podcast after the debate concluded, and Ferguson pointed out that he "didn't think it could actually be this bad," and said that "it was worse than even either of us could have imagined, and now the Democratic Party is screaming 'replace the president!'"
The Texas senator agreed.
"I have to say we have just witnessed what I believe is the most consequential presidential debate in U.S. history," he said.
"Sometimes debates change things, sometimes they don't," he noted.
"I believe the odds have now skyrocketed, I believe the odds are north of 80 percent that the Democrat Party will remove Joe Biden from the ticket and replace him," Cruz explained. "And I believe they are likely to replace Joe Biden with Michelle Obama because Biden did so disastrously badly tonight, that Democrats across the country are in utter freefall and complete panic."
For what it's worth, I think there's zero chance that Michelle Obama would run, but I think the odds of Biden being replaced are as high as they've ever been. That said, the Biden campaign, and several top Democrats are pushing back hard against calls for him to drop out.
“Folks, I give you my word as a Biden, I would not be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul I can do this job, because, quite frankly, the stakes are too high,” Biden said a campaign rally in North Carolina on Friday.
If Biden were to drop out, I'm sure the campaign would work out an exit strategy that would give him the opportunity to leave the race with some dignity, but the longer it takes for this to happen, the worse it will be for Democrats. According to a report from Axios, the only way Biden would drop out of the race "is if the same small group of lifelong loyalists who enabled his run suddenly — and shockingly — decides it's time for him to call it quits."
Something tells me his family won't let him walk away.
