There is a presidential candidate who should drop out of the 2024 race, the editorial board of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote in an opinion piece published on Saturday—but it’s not President Biden. “The only person who should withdraw from the race is Trump,” the newspaper’s team insisted, and later added, “Supporters say they like Trump because he says whatever he thinks. But he mainly spews raw sewage.”
“To build himself up, Trump constantly tears the country down,” the editorial board added. “There is no shining city on the hill. It’s just mourning in America.”
At the core of the outlet’s position are the lies—over 30,000 while in office, at least 30 during Thursday’s debate alone—Trump has told. The debate was “a reminder of what another four years of Trump would look like. More lies, grievance, narcissism, and hate.”
Trump’s first term in office was notable for several reasons, the board continued, including the hours he spent devoted to Twitter and the time he spent at properties he owns, apparently playing over 200 games of golf. He also made a lot of promises that he failed to keep, including his border wall with Mexico.
“Trump stacked the judiciary with extreme judges consisting mainly of white males, including a number who the American Bar Association rated as not qualified. A record number of cabinet officials were fired or left the office. The West Wing was in constant chaos and infighting,” the board wrote.
Among other lows from Trump’s time in office: the $2 billion deal his son-in-law struck with Saudi Arabia’s government, his own impeachments, and his failed management of the COVID-19 pandemic. More recently, he was convicted on 34 counts of fraud in New York, and still faces 3 additional federal cases (including one about his role in the attempted overthrow of the very government he ostensibly wants to head).
With all this in mind, the board asks: why was he even allowed on the debate stage in the first place?
President Biden might not have performed as well as many had hoped he would in Thursday’s debate, the editorial team concluded, but “Biden believes in the best of America. He has rebuilt relationships with allies around the world and stood up to foes like Russia and China. There was only one person at the debate who does not deserve to be running for president. The sooner Trump exits the stage, the better off the country will be.”
