Butler Shooting Could Provide Biden With an Off-Ramp

WASHINGTON - July 14, 2024 - PRLog -- President Joe Biden seemed to be in a situation from which he could not easily extract himself; as CNN reported, Democrats Hope To Find An "Off-Ramp" For Biden (https://www.realclearpolitics.com/video/2024/07/12/cnns_jeff_zeleny_democrats_hope_to_find_an_off-ramp_for_biden_but_this_is_his_decision_to_make.html), suggests public interest law professor John Banzhaf.

He was unwilling to give any credence to concerns about his mental health which have led to polls showing that he is likely to lose to Donald Trump if he doesn't drop out.

On the other hand, if he remains in the race and Democrats lose the White House, and probably the Senate and valuable seats in the House as many predict, Biden's legacy would be tarnished if not destroyed, suggests Banzhaf.

But as a result of the almost-successful assassination of Trump in Butler, Biden now suddenly has a potential off-ramp which would allow him to quit the race without seeming like a coward leaving because he was likely to lose, or giving any credence to possible mental problems (which could grow worse if he continues to campaign).

He and his wife Jill could simply announce publicly that, because of her concerns about his physical safety which came to a boil when she watched Trump almost get killed campaigning, Biden has reluctantly agreed to step down, argues Banzhaf.

Even if her concerns for her husband's physical safety while campaigning aren't the main reason for his stepping down, they certainly provide a justification likely to be accepted by most voters.

Neither history nor the general public would blame Biden if he chose not to run if he and Jill blamed the decision on her renewed concerns, and perhaps also those of other family members, about his physical safety in view of what almost happened in Butler.

After all, as recounted in History sheds light on why Biden skipped previous presidential bids (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/07/13/joe-bi...), he has made that decision as least twice before when the reasons for dropping out seemed much less pressing than those he was facing even before the assassination attempt.  As the article explained, "In 1987, Biden found his exit ramp off the presidential campaign."

So, regardless of the other effects the shooting is likely to have on the presidential race, the President and his family should give careful consideration to using it, and the fear it has understandably re-generated among family members for his physical safety while campaigning, as an off-ramp to leave the race without seeming to bow to pressure, to ever declining poll numbers, or to speculation that he is too old or not otherwise mentally fit to serve four more years in that stressful office, says Banzhaf.

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