Thomas Friedman, the senior commentator for the New York Times and a friend of President Biden, responded in a special column he published about the confrontation between the president and his predecessor in office, Donald Trump - admitting that Biden's performance was difficult to watch and calling for him to resign.
In the title of the opinion column, Friedman wrote: "Biden is my friend. He must withdraw from the race.".
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He said: "I watched the debate alone in a hotel room in Lisbon - and it made me cry. I can't remember a more heartbreaking moment in the politics of the US presidential campaign in my lifetime - mainly because of what it revealed: Joe Biden, a good man and a good president, cannot run for president again, and on the other hand, Donald Trump - has not learned and has not forgotten anything. He is the same man of lies that he always was.".
""The Biden family and political team must quickly gather themselves and have a very difficult conversation with the president, with great love, clarity and determination. To allow America the greatest opportunity to prevent the threat posed by Trump winning the November election. The president must stand up and announce that he will not run for re-election and transfer his support to someone else.".
He said, "If the leaders of the Republican Party had a shred of integrity - they would demand that Trump do the same - but they don't have any.".
He noted that Kamala Harris could be a candidate to replace Biden, "but voters deserve an open process that will bring a Democratic presidential candidate who can not only unite the party but the entire United States.".
The commentator added: "Joe Biden has been my friend since we traveled together to Afghanistan and Pakistan after September 11, when he chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and I write this with great sadness. If he refrains from running, his first and only term will be remembered as one of the best in our nation's history. He saved us from Trump, and for that alone he deserves the Presidential Medal of Freedom.".
""I've given Biden the benefit of the doubt until now, because during the one-on-one meetings I had with him, I felt he was functioning properly. Clearly, that's no longer the case. His family and his team must know this, they've been preparing for the confrontation at Camp David for days - if this is the best performance they could get out of him, it's time for Joe to maintain the respect he deserves and retire at the end of this term.".
