Joe Biden Donor Calls On President to 'Retire'

George Conway has called on President Joe Biden to "retire" from political life.

Conway, an attorney and frequent Donald Trump critic, also suggested in a series of posts on X, formerly Twitter, that the presumptive Republican presidential candidate "deserves a pleasant retired life" in a "nice minimum-security U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility."

"As I'm sure many of you have, I've been thinking a lot about the electoral choice we have in 2024 with more focus over the past few days, and I keep returning to a conclusion I reached a while back, but felt was not realistic enough as a scenario to be worth expressing," Conway wrote.

"And that is that, for the good of the country and their own good, both of the major-party presidential candidates should retire."

Conway, who is separated from Trump's former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, was previously found to have donated the maximum amount allowed to the Biden Victory Fund: $929,600.

He is the latest figure to suggest that Biden should end his reelection bid in the wake of the president's performance during the first televised debate of the 2024 campaign on Thursday night.

The Context

Biden, 81, has long faced concerns that he is too old to seek a second term in office.

During the June 28 CNN debate in Atlanta, Biden gave such a worrying performance—which included delivering convoluted answers in a hoarse voice and appearing to trail off mid-sentence—that several figures have called on him to end his White House campaign to allow the Democratic Party to select a new nominee.

The president and his team have long dismissed suggestions he will withdraw from the race before November amid concerns about his age and poor approval ratings. Lauren Hitt, Biden's campaign spokesperson, told the Associated Press after the CNN debate: "Of course he's not dropping out."

What We Know

Writing on social media, Conway has now said that Biden should end his campaign.

Conway also said that Trump, who will be sentenced on July 11 after being found guilty of 34 falsifying business records charges and faces three other federal and state trials, should also retire at a "nice minimum-security U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility" rather than seek a return to the White House.

"Joe Biden has served his country honorably for over a half-century. He deserves our thanks for that, and in particular for saving our Constitution, our democracy, and the rule of law by running for president and winning in 2020," Conway wrote.

"He deserves to live a happy, retired life on the beautiful Delaware shore, and wherever his travels may take him and his wonderful wife and family.

"I can't quite say all of that about Donald Trump, but I do think that he, too, deserves a pleasant, retired life. Obviously he'd choose to devote some of that time to defend himself against the myriad remaining criminal charges against him. And that's his right," Conway added.

"But I nonetheless do wish him many comfortable years in retirement at a nice minimum-security U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility."

Newsweek reached out to the Biden and Trump campaigns via email for comment.

Trump is not expected to receive a custodial sentence when he is sentenced over his hush money trial charges later this month.

It also seems likely he will not appear before a jury in any of the other trials he faces before November's election due to a series of delays and legal arguments in all three cases.

The Supreme Court is expected to rule on Monday whether the federal charges against Trump regarding his actions in and around the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack, which he has pleaded not guilty to, can be dismissed over claims he can cite presidential immunity.

Polls have frequently suggested that voters are far from enthused about November's election being once more between Biden and Trump.

If Trump, 78, wins the next election and serves a full term, he will overtake Biden as the oldest U.S. president to ever serve in office.

Views

The New York Times editorial board called on Biden to leave the race: "Mr. Biden has been an admirable president. Under his leadership, the nation has prospered and begun to address a range of long-term challenges, and the wounds ripped open by Mr. Trump have begun to heal.

"But the greatest public service Mr. Biden can now perform is to announce that he will not continue to run for re-election."

The Philadelphia Inquirer editorial board said Trump must withdraw from the race: "The debate served as a reminder of what another four years of Trump would look like. More lies, grievance, narcissism, and hate. Supporters say they like Trump because he says whatever he thinks. But he mainly spews raw sewage.

"Trump is an unserious carnival barker running for the most serious job in the world. During his last term, Trump served himself and not the American people."

What Next

Biden is on course to be confirmed as the party's 2024 nominee at the Democratic National Committee in Chicago in August.

The Republican National Convention, where Trump will be confirmed as the GOP's 2024 nominee, will take place in Milwaukee later this month.

Update 07/01/24, 9 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.

Update 07/01/24, 9:19 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.