From Gamble to Car Wreck?

Joe Biden Has a Chance to Bow Out Gracefully

Donald Trump massively deteriorated during the recent debate, but the public would barely notice (psychopathic traits are predatory, in that the more dangerous they are, the more masterfully they deceive).

Joe Biden presented as entirely mentally fit, but the public would not be convinced (he came across as exceptionally old and frail, but superficial appearances have no bearing on mental fitness).

In my interview with Don Lemon, I tried to educate the public on this difference.  We have a presidential race for which mental capacity is the most critical feature—because one of the candidates is unfit.  If mental health experts were commenting and educating every step of the way—and even so, mental symptoms are powerful contenders—maybe there would be a chance for a rational outcome.  For now, there is not.

Years ago, a panel of top, independent mental health experts from around the country performed a mental fitness evaluation, and Donald Trump failed every criterion.

Recently, another panel of the most eminent living psychiatrists did a dangerousness risk assessment, and found Donald Trump to be very dangerous.

Furthermore, laypeople will not likely know that Donald Trump’s “confidence” comes from overcompensation for catastrophic levels of low self-worth and feelings of inadequacy.  They will not likely know that his “dynamism” derives from overwhelming compulsive energy, because of these pathological drives.  They will not likely notice that his very serious cognitive symptoms, which also accompany neurological signs, are different in nature from Biden’s benign lapses or superficial gaffes, however frequent or glaring.  And they will not likely realize that Biden’s honest stumbles are minuscule compared Trump’s pathological need to cover up his extremely serious, dangerous, and debilitating symptoms—which he is willing to destroy a nation to cover up.  When one has no ideas, no values, and not even ordinary human emotions, then one can concoct the most ideal image for any audience.  And when one has no compunctions about conning people, a fake persona emerges very easily, having been honed over decades.

Above all, people will not likely recognize that they have been manipulated into believing that Trump’s actual problems are Biden’s: that is, Trump’s cognitive problems, his unfitness, and his dangers are displaced onto Biden!  Everything—without exception—Trump said about Biden during the debate is true about Trump and false about Biden, which indicates dangerous degrees of projection. Accomplishments of Biden Trump claimed to be his own show offensive levels of immorality.

The fact that Donald Trump is a convicted criminal with thirty-four felonies does not matter—let alone an existential threat to the continued survival of the human species—has to do with the extremity of his criminality and danger, not their lack.

For these reasons, I would not have recommended a debate at all.  As I said in 2020:

A debate presupposes mental health.  We cannot pretend to have one when management of psychological impairment is what is warranted…. we continue to help the disorder in every way possible by treating his behavior as normal.

There is no point in criticizing the moderators, when what Donald Trump needed was not a moderator but a psychiatrist. And he is no longer the only one, given Trump Contagion.

Lying with every word is an extremely serious pathological sign, and unless a blaring sirens go off with every lie—and even so—people would not come away with the right impression.  And they would not recover from the stupor in which Donald Trump has placed them, through sheer bombardment. Since 51.3 million people watched the 90-minute debate, the incorrect images that were created are likely irreversible.

Political commentator George Will said it as early as November 2022 in his column: “For the good of the country, Biden and Harris should bow out of the 2024 election.”  I asked in March 2024 in my Substack: “Gambling with Joe Biden too dangerous?”  I propose now that it is.

And I would only be joining a chorus:

Joe Biden is a good man and a good president.  He must bow out of the race | New York Times

The best president of my life needs to withdraw | New York Times

President Biden, I’ve seen enough | New York Times

Trump is too dangerous for Democrats to stick with Biden | Washington Post

The great Democratic freakout is upon us | Washington Post

A disaster for Joe Biden | Atlantic

Someone needs to take Biden’s keys | Atlantic

Time to go, Joe | Atlantic

Dropping out is Biden’s most patriotic option | Atlantic

It’s not too late. Biden should step aside | Bulwark

The Bidens need to have a talk | Bulwark

Trump was terrible. Biden was worse | Nation

Ditch Biden. That debate performance was a disaster | New Republic

Was the debate the beginning of the end of Joe Biden’s presidency? Notes on a disastrous night for the Democrats | New Yorker

A tarnished silver lining: Biden was so inept that the case for replacing him is now overwhelming | American Prospect

The Democrats must dump Trump.  Here’s how | American Prospect

Joe Biden is now democracy’s greatest liability | Common Dreams

This is not an ordinary presidential race, and Biden’s clinging to hubris, however honestly believing that it is for the good of the country, could become an existential disaster for humanity.  Perhaps Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, and others could pressure him from behind the scenes to drop out, in the name of country and American democracy. Countless many would be grateful.

I remember the unexpected win of President Barack Obama in 2008. I exclaimed: “What is miraculous is not that we have a Black president, but that we have an intelligent one!” The United States, questioned for choosing an “idiot” over the intelligent Al Gore, suddenly rose in stature among Europeans (I was consulting with the French Ministry of Justice at the time). I tried to explain then that the “idiot”—who would soon become the enabler of war crimes—was a sign of the decline of American democracy and the people not truly having a choice. Firmly established in their own democracies, they did not understand what I meant. Soon, Donald Trump would be a sign of the crisis of American democracy, and they, too, would feel the reverberations around the world. A time of crisis can be turned into a time of opportunity.  The extremity of Trump’s dangers ironically makes Joe Biden’s candidacy too risky to be tenable.  But perhaps Trump’s “Après moi, le déluge [After me, the flood]” attitude (or, in truth, “Après moi, la mort [After me, the death]”) can be turned into a chance to have not just an intelligent president, but a young and vibrant one. Joe Biden’s ability to place the good of the country—and humanity—before his own desires could be the ultimate demonstration of his fitness. He could be a role model for a generation that has had difficulty knowing when to step aside. He would endear himself to the American people, and continue to be a model of reasonableness, empathy, and decency, in stark contrast to his opponent. And, as in 2008, our country will begin to recover from the ashes. For the full extent of Trump’s dangers, consult my new book, The Psychology of Trump Contagion: An Existential Threat to American Democracy and All Humankind, available through paid subscription.