President Joe Biden could make a decision within days whether to remain a candidate for reelection, said Hawaii’s governor who participated in a recent meeting with Biden and other Democratic governors and whose family has known the president for years.
And if Biden decides not to run, Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told The Associated Press on Saturday that he believes the president will designate Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him on the ticket.
Green, who was a physician on Hawaii’s Big Island before he was elected governor, said everyone has parents or grandparents who have moments that aren’t that great or pauses in their ability to express themselves clearly. But, he added, they aren’t discarded because of their experience, wisdom and their role in the family.
Green was quick to point out that Trump is only three years younger than Biden and both will have bad days going forward. But he argued that temperament is more important than age.
“For God’s sake, these two guys have to hold the nuclear codes,” Green said. “I don’t want someone who tweets in the middle of the night and rages at other countries. That is not good. That’s not the problem we have with President Biden.”
I’d rather have the media talk about Biden than give Trump EVEN MORE attention. The psychology of advertising has shown that the cliche “All publicity is good publicity” is literally true on a population scale of at least a few thousand. Discussing Biden on the news cycle, positively or negatively, makes him more likely to win more votes. That’s why he will not and should not drop out now.
To be clear: I wish he had stepped aside for a different democratic candidate in 2020. But since then, I don’t believe there was ever a good time to shift attention to a replacement who would be popular enough to beat Trump.