The US Democratic Party should lead the debate on a new presidential candidate and not quickly award the position to Vice President Kamala Harris, leading US newspapers say after President Joe Biden withdrew from this year’s election. His move is evaluated mostly positively by the big papers.
Some analyses, including a joint opinion of The Washington Post (WP) commentators, characterize Biden’s decision as selfless. According to the opinion section of The New York Times (NYT), the president put the “national interest” ahead of his own pride, something his Republican predecessor Donald Trump would “never” do. The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) commentators, who are generally very critical of the president, also write about the move “in the best interest” of the United States.
“Voters won and forced the establishment to act,” the WSJ editorial board said, referring to the fact that a majority of Democratic voters in polls called for a change in the presidential nominee for the November election.
With just over 100 days left, according to NYT commentators, Democrats still have plenty of time to choose a replacement for Biden from among several options. Nominating Harris would be a “sensible path,” but “there are other qualified Democrats who can challenge Trump and win.”
The opinion sections of WP and WSJ expressed similar views. “An open process for electing a replacement for Biden as the Democratic nominee… could be complicated,” WP commentators judge, but at the same time they see such a process as “an opportunity for a restart.” Both newspapers say, among other things, that Harris should explain to the public why she has so far defended Biden’s ability to continue in office.
Source: www.tyden.cz
