Republicans Say Joe Biden Should Quit the Presidency Right Now

"If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President," said House Speaker Mike Johnson.

President Joe Biden is no longer running for reelection. After facing weeks of mounting pressure from donors, the media, and party elites following his disastrous debate performance, Biden formally exited the race on Sunday—and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as his successor.

Biden may be dropping out, but he is not resigning the presidency and intends to finish his term. Many Republicans are criticizing this move, suggesting that if the president is not capable of running for reelection, he should not be doing the job presently.

"If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President," wrote House Speaker Mike Johnson on X. "He must resign the office immediately."

This opinion was echoed by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R–N.Y.), Rep. Nancy Mace (R–S.C.), Sen. Josh Hawley (R–Mo.), and many, many other Republicans.

Republicans are obviously motivated by their own political interest here; that said, the question of Biden's fitness right now is not unreasonable. Biden isn't getting out of the race because he suddenly decided four years on the job is enough: He is being forced out because his party has lost confidence in his cognitive ability, his physical health, and his capacity to speak in complete sentences. President of the U.S. is a very demanding job.

Team Biden can respond with the claim that Biden is fully capable right now of finishing his term, but should no longer commit to serving for an additional four years. They can also say that Biden is able to be president, but the additional job of campaigning is too much of a strain. Whether these arguments prove persuasive remains to be seen. Biden's statement announcing his exit from the race did not cite a specific reason. He merely said that "it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down." That wording was probably designed to avoid giving credence to those calling for his immediate resignation.

Sen. Chris Coons (D–Del.) told reporters that calls for Biden to resign were disrespectful of his accomplishments and reckless given the challenges on the global stage. Of course, Republicans could counter the latter point by asserting that the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East necessitate the U.S. having a president who is in full command of his mental faculties. Virtually the entire Democratic Party has implicitly conceded that Biden doesn't fit that description.