Biden can’t win but he won’t go. Democrats deserve this chaos.

The Democratic Party has been at DEFCON 1 since President Joe Biden revealed in last month’s debate with former President Donald Trump that he is incoherent and incapable of leading the United States for the next four years.
Although Democrats have spent years gaslighting voters about Biden’s cognitive health, some party leaders are now calling for Biden to step down as their presidential nominee. It makes political sense for Biden to make way for a stronger nominee, but it also raises questions about the president’s ability to remain in office for even a few more months.
And it calls into question whether Americans can trust the Democratic Party to lead this country after November.
It’s clear to most Americans, but still not to Biden, that he should step down as the Democratic nominee. The 81-year-old president called in to MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday to tell hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski that voters have chosen him to lead the Democratic ticket.
“I’m getting so frustrated by the elites in the party. … They know so much more,” Biden said. “If any of these guys don’t think I should run, run against me. Go ahead. Announce for president − challenge me at the convention!”
That sounds like a bad joke, but it’s not. Biden appears to really believe that he can withstand the challenge from his own party and beat Trump in November.
What’s worse than an incapable president? A delusional one. (As a Republican who can’t stand Trump, I should know.)
Despite Biden’s obstinance, an increasing number of leaders in Biden’s own party want him to go.
Senior House Democrats − Reps. Jerry Nadler of New York, Adam Smith of Washington, Mark Takano of California and Joe Morelle of New York − are among those who have said that Biden should exit the presidential race. It’s not exactly brave to speak up at this juncture ‒ the entire world already saw Biden’s awful debate performance ‒ but it does show that the party is beginning to fissure.
Even left-leaning news outlets realize that Biden can’t remain the Democratic nominee. The lead paragraph in an opinion piece by a Vox senior correspondent is brutal but may well prove to be accurate: “In his first interview since (the June 27) disastrous debate, President Joe Biden appeared too frail to defeat former President Donald Trump and too delusional to end his campaign. “
Frail and delusional. And up for reelection to lead the free world in less than four months.
Is Biden fit to be president?Democrats gaslighted Americans about Biden’s cognitive decline. The debate exposed the truth.
The headline on a Slate column published last week is similarly devastating: “The Democratic Party’s Double Standard: Trump is not the only person on earth who cannot be trusted with power.”
Yet, Vice President Kamala Harris also is unfit to lead this country. If she were ready to lead, Democrats would have ousted Biden long ago. They’re hesitating now because they know she’s a vapid suit who remains “unburdened by what has been” − a favorite line of hers − and has no real chops to make important decisions and rub shoulders with foreign dignitaries.
She’s another reason why Democrats are a mess. The No. 1 and No. 2 Democrats leading the country are arrogant but confused. What a combination.
The Democratic Party’s inability to reach a consensus about Biden’s ability to lead the nation for the next four years is as revealing as it is dangerous.
“But we just found out that Biden was a wreck,” Democrats might say. No, you didn’t.
Party leaders should have known (and perhaps did know) for months, if not years, that Biden was in serious decline. Last fall, large numbers of voters expressed concerns about the effects of Biden’s age on his ability to lead the country.
Democratic leaders downplayed those concerns, covered up evidence of Biden’s decline and attacked anyone who didn’t fall in line. Now they are panicking because their ruse has failed.
When did Democrats know the truth?The left’s cover-up of Biden’s decline raises hard questions.
Nearly two weeks after the world saw the real Joe Biden, Democrats still haven’t been able to resolve a crisis that only gets worse by the day. The campaign remains in chaos, which is more proof that Democrats aren’t the best party to lead the country forward.
The Republican Party has plenty of its own problems, starting with presumptive nominee Donald Trump. I’ve focused recently on Republicans’ problems, and for years, news outlets have run nonstop coverage of the former president’s legal and personal problems.
As it turns out, the Democratic Party has had its own dumpster fire smoldering for months. Now it’s blazing. The man the party chose can’t do the job, and yet he refuses to step down. He can’t win, but he won’t go.
It’s a nightmare for the Democrats and, if they don’t fix it soon, it’s a nightmare for America.
Whatever happens with Biden in the coming days, the Democratic Party has proved it’s incapable of leading this country for the next four years.
Nicole Russell is an opinion columnist with USA TODAY. She lives in Texas with her four kids. Sign up for her newsletter, The Right Track, and get it delivered to your inbox.