The Economist Sends Loud and Clear Message to Biden With This 'Brutal' Cover

Leah Barkoukis | July 05, 2024 11:00 AM

President Biden insisted Thursday he’s not stepping aside despite pressure to exit the presidential race after last week’s disastrous debate, which highlighted concerns about his mental and physical fitness to continue the job.

It’s not just donors, commentators, and some Democrat lawmakers who are urging him to bow out of the race, even liberal media which for years defended Biden, 81, on these issues, is now turning on him.

One recent—and brutal—example of this came from The Economist’s July 4 cover, which featured a walker with the presidential seal on it and the words, “No way to run a country.”

The corresponding piece by the editorial board argued Biden is “unfit” to be president.

"It was agony to watch a befuddled old man struggling to recall words and facts. His inability to land an argument against a weak opponent was dispiriting. But the operation by his campaign to deny what tens of millions of Americans saw with their own eyes is more toxic than either, because its dishonesty provokes contempt."

The board continues, "Democrats argue, rightly, that Mr Trump is unfit to be president. But the debate and its aftermath have proved Mr Biden unfit, too. First, because of his mental decline. Mr Biden can still appear dynamic during short, scripted appearances. But you cannot run a superpower by autocue. And you cannot put an international crisis on hold because the president is having a bad night.”