by Joe Siegel

President Joe Biden decided on July 21 not to accept the Democratic nomination for president and endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris.

But before Biden’s decision, editors and writers for LGBTQ media offered their takes on whether Biden should stay or go.

In a July 8 editorial entitled “Bed-wetting Dems jumping the gun on Biden,” Kevin Naff, editor of the Washington Blade, wrote, “Donald Trump delivered a disastrous debate performance, too, and is nearly as old as Biden. Trump has offered up a bewildering flurry of mental slips, verbal gaffes, and outright nonsense that should alarm everyone.”

“By any measure he has been a great president who inherited a disastrous economy, record deficits, and COVID,” Naff continued. “If Biden decides to drop out, it should be his decision and it’s unlikely that those few House Democrats will have any influence over it. If he doesn’t drop out, we must all double down to ensure he wins and that the Democrats hold the Senate and retake the House. The country, and our LGBTQ community, can’t afford another Trump term.”

Metro Weekly, also based in Washington, D.C., published dueling op-eds on July 16. “He Should Go: The Case for Dropping Biden” by Will O’Bryan argued, “The president has pulled us back from the brink, earned his laurels, and now must finish his term and bless his successor.” “He Should Stay: The Case for Keeping Biden” by John Riley makes the case, “The Democratic Party and its allies need to stand by Biden despite his recent debate fumble.”

California Congressman Robert Garcia, who is gay, also defended Biden in a July 10 interview with the Blade. “Joe Biden is proving that if he’s going to get punched in the nose, he’s going to punch back twice as hard. And I think that is where the campaign is headed, and what needs to continue to happen.”

But Illinois Congressman Eric Sorenson, who is also gay, called on Biden to end his reelection campaign.

“In 2020, Joe Biden ran for President with the purpose of putting country over party. Today, I am asking him to do that again,” Sorenson shared in a statement. “I am hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President.”

According to the Washington Blade, “Kelley Robinson, president of the Human Rights Campaign, America’s largest LGBTQ rights organization and a group that has made major investments in Biden’s reelection effort, also reaffirmed her support for the president in a statement to the Blade.”

“Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda pose an existential threat to our rights, freedom, and democracy itself,” Robinson said. “Our job remains the same: defeat him. Biden-Harris is the ticket to do it and we are proud to stand by our endorsement.”

In San Francisco, the Bay Area Reporter published a July 2 editorial entitled, “Getting past Biden’s bad night.”

“Far more important than Biden’s halting debate performance is the real danger being unleashed on this country by the U.S. Supreme Court,” wrote the BAR. “That’s why we disagree with those who say there is no difference between Biden and Trump. The former president is a threat to the very foundation of our country, even more so after Monday’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling that gives presidents substantial immunity for ‘official acts,’ which ties back to Trump’s working, as president, to try and overturn the 2020 election. Should he be elected, Trump’s reach will know no bounds, as the justices greatly expanded presidential power. One bad night certainly doesn’t mean voters should abandon Biden. If anything, they should empathize with him and focus on the many things he and his administration have done over the past three years to help improve people’s lives.”

Columnist Wayne Besen took an opposing view in his July 9 column for Wilton Manors, Fla.’s OutSFL.

“Writing this column hurts. I deeply admire Joe Biden and believe history will view him as a top-tier president who somehow succeeded in uplifting the nation despite deeply partisan times,” Besen wrote. “In 2020, Biden saved the country from Donald Trump’s incompetence and authoritarianism. It’s time he rescues America one final time by announcing he’s no longer running for re-election. The president can retire with dignity and a record of accomplishment — but move onto greener pastures he must do. The loyalists derisively say that those who speak out are ‘bed wetting.’ That’s an understatement.

“The truth is what we are experiencing is a bed saturating urine tsunami. Those of us who value democracy, honesty, decency, stability and human rights are beyond terrified. How do we sleep at night if an enfeebled Biden is all that stands in the way of America being disfigured and led by a deranged demagogue in a matter of months? Biden can heroically go down in history as the man who saved America twice — or the man whose pride and hubris caused the collapse of civilization. We can only hope Biden’s wisdom prevails one final time.”

IN THE NEWS
Volume 26
Issue 5