Top Former Foreign Policy Officials Call on Biden to Step Aside
Top Former Foreign Policy Officials Call on Biden to Step Aside
The calls for Biden to exit the race continue to mount.
[This piece has been updated with a comment from the Biden campaign.]
DOZENS OF FORMER U.S. foreign policy and national security officials released an open letter Friday urging Joe Biden to suspend his 2024 campaign, becoming the latest in a series of party stalwarts to push for the president to step aside.
In their letter, the group wrote that concerns about the president’s age and ability to campaign against Donald Trump effectively “put your national security accomplishments—and our country and your legacy—at an unacceptable level of risk.”
“We have welcomed the measures you have taken to promote U.S. alliances in Europe, Asia, and the Americas; to manage relations with great powers; and to address global issues such as climate change,” the letter reads. “We also strongly endorse your urgent call for civility in the public debate.”
“We are also keenly aware of the comments you made in March 2020, in which you indicated that you viewed yourself as ‘a bridge’ to ‘an entire generation of leaders’ who represent the country’s future,” it goes on. “We strongly believe that now is the time to pass the mantle of leadership, and we respectfully urge you to do so.”
The full letter is reproduced below.
While lawmakers, former aides, and Democratic allies have similarly called for Biden to end his presidential bid, the push by foreign policy and national security officials is likely to sting Biden. The president has long prided himself on his grasp of international affairs, even recently chastising a member of Congress who was calling for him to drop out by arguing that his record on the global stage was unmatched.
The letter’s signatories include a number of notable names, including former National Security Advisor Anthony Lake, foreign policy scholar and diplomat Peter Galbraith, and former counterterrorism czar Richard A. Clarke. A plethora of former U.S. ambassadors and former senior State Department officials added their names as well. Its authenticity was confirmed by four signatories, including Clarke.
The White House and the Biden campaign did not respond to requests for comment.
Biden, who is currently recuperating from COVID at his Delaware vacation home, continues to project public defiance in the face of mounting calls for him to step aside. His campaign manager, Jen O’Malley Dillon, made a rare call into MSNBC’s Morning Joe this morning to insist that “absolutely the president’s in this race.”
Privately, however, Biden is reportedly wavering, with a number of outlets reporting since yesterday that he is less certain than before about continuing his 2024 bid. Axios reported this morning that top Democrats are increasingly convinced Biden will ultimately step aside, perhaps as soon as this weekend.
[UPDATE, 7:50 p.m.: Biden spokesman James Singer provided this comment after publication: “This is a time to unify against the national security threat that is Donald Trump. Joe Biden’s strong and steady leadership are essential at a time when dictators and despots around the world are threatening established norms, laws, and borders. His experience and knowledge in foreign affairs is unmatched—that is exactly why it is essential he win this November.]
