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President Biden just announced in a letter that he will step aside as the Democratic nominee for reelection.
He said in part: “It has been the greatest honor of my life to serve as your president. And while it has been my intention to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down and for me to focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term.”
I am heartbroken in this moment. This has been the most progressive and productive president of my lifetime, and the loyalty and respect he has earned comes from a lifetime of public service and an administration with extraordinary accomplishments, particularly in a deeply divided era for our country.
As I said several days ago in the essay I published on this crisis, I trust the President. I trust his wisdom to know that this is the best path forward. If Joe Biden knows this is how we proceed, I trust him.
Here’s the critical excerpt from that essay that I need everyone to understand:
But here’s one thing I know for certain: this current political media landscape of ours, with all its slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, will not end with President Biden stepping aside.
There is an obvious double standard at play right now. It is painfully apparent that Donald Trump and the Republican Party are largely being given a pass by much of political media.
That is not to say that all—or perhaps, most—political reporters and outlets are working through a prism of obvious bias in favor of Trump, but there is certainly a pervasive absolution of journalistic duty that will continue to exist, no matter which names are on the Democratic ticket.
Vice President Harris, Gov. Newsom, Gov. Whitmer, Gov. Pritzker, Gov. Shapiro, Gov. Beshear, Sec. Buttigieg, it truly does not matter who forms the ticket that gets printed on ballots — all of them will be unfairly weighed by much of political media against a narcissistic sociopath leading a major party that has become a cult.
It could be anything. The propaganda we can expect is only limited by imagination.
As soon as the Republican Party settles on a narrative and pushes it, much of political media will pick up that ball and run with it, “just asking questions” and musing out loud and doing all they can to preserve access with the GOP and satisfy certain billionaire owners who are throwing their weight on the scales.
I don’t point this out to demoralize anyone. Quite the opposite. I point this out to prevent a predictable demoralization that will surely come for anyone, regardless of their take on this matter, who believes the cementing of their preferred ticket will ease the path forward.
We have to be prepared for pervasive discomfort, every single one of us. The next 15 weeks or so will come with unexpected obstacles and a deeply unfair double standard in much of political media and the frustrating prioritization of entertainment over substance, intrigue over clarity, ratings over republic, drama over democracy.
Whatever happens next, even if it may not be what we personally think is best, it is critical that we roll up our sleeves and stand shoulder-to-shoulder in the work against those who gleefully seek to undermine and destroy our democratic institutions.
I strongly believe President Biden is our best choice and that he and VP Harris will win, but if the President does eventually decide to step aside, I will trust his well-earned wisdom and I’m gonna get right back to work and fight like hell to save our country.
The math here is remarkably simple. If we stand together and put in the work, we will win. If we allow anger and angst to divide us, we will lose and democracy will lose and the consequences of that will reverberate far beyond our country.
All of us have a choice, and I trust that there are more than enough us, regardless of how we personally feel the ticket should look, to come together and choose a future that sends Trump and Project 2025 right into the trash bin of history where they belong.
The choice is between democracy and dictatorship.
No matter what happens next, let’s all make that choice.
I meant every word of that, and I certainly mean every word of it now.
We can win this, and we will win this. I have no doubt about that.
I promise you that anything other than a unified purpose in this moment will not be helpful. Whatever we may feel, however heartbroken or angry or frustrated, the fate of our nation relies on us standing shoulder to shoulder to defeat a fascist vision. That must be our purpose.
President Biden has endorsed Vice President Harris, and he’s absolutely right to do so.
Vice President Harris will be the Democratic nominee, she will defeat Trump and his fascist vision, and she will be a great president. I have every faith in her. I am not worried about whether or not she can win. I know she can win.
Time to unite behind her with that common purpose and go win this election.
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