The editorial board of The Washington Post published a mock speech in which President Joe Biden announced the abandonment of his 2024 reelection campaign.

The faux address — under the headline of “What if Biden spoke these words?” — imagined Biden delivering the news to Americans on Thursday, Independence Day, a week after his disastrous debate performance against Donald Trump sparked calls for him to end his run.

The key part in the Post’s essay read:

My season of service is nearing its close. This was a hard truth to face. But it is the natural course of things — as evident as the progression from spring to summer, from fall to winter. This is why I have decided to withdraw from the campaign for president of the United States.

It envisioned Biden announcing new debates between potential nominees, including Vice President Kamala Harris, and concluded with the president urging Americans to “search your soul as I have” when they go to the polls in November.

Some people on social media suggested it was the Post’s call for Biden to quit the race. Others were simply confused by the editorial.

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The Washington Post editorial board published a scathing editorial this week offering President Joe Biden a mock speech for how he could drop out of the presidential race on July 4th.

The editorial titled, “What if Biden spoke these words?,” was published on Wednesday evening and begins traditionally enough for a president marking the 4th of July.

“The framers were shaped by hardship — they carried out a revolution at the edge of a wild frontier. They knew there are seasons to a life — and seasons of service. They knew, too, that relying on a single individual, a king, might create the illusion of strength but would be at its core fragile,” the mock speech read a few minutes in and adds:

Over the past few days, I have been reflecting on all this. My season of service is nearing its close. This was a hard truth to face. But it is the natural course of things — as evident as the progression from spring to summer, from fall to winter. This is why I have decided to withdraw from the campaign for president of the United States.

The remarkable op-ed goes on to offer a scenario for how to best to replace Biden atop the Democratic ticket.

“The Democratic National Committee, senior Democratic leaders and I have agreed on an orderly process to select our next nominee, which will include debates between now and our convention in August. My vice president, Kamala Harris, has graciously and courageously agreed to participate. Though Democratic primary voters cannot be included at this late date, their delegates will make the final choice,” the board wrote, specifically including VP Harris as an option.

The speech ends with a swipe at Donald Trump and a call for the country to turn the page on this dark chapter in its history. The board says that Biden won the presidency in the first place as Americans were “exhausted by Mr. Trump’s chaos” and concludes:

Americans, I invite you to search your soul as I have. Are we so unsure of ourselves that we will empower a would-be king, one who has been given expansive powers by an activist Supreme Court? Or will we look back on Washington’s example, in the spring of American life, and recognize that our independence is built on service, sacrifice, a willingness to assume the best in one another and the belief there will be better seasons to come?

Read the full editorial here.

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