The Washington Post editorial board has endorsed Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden for president, saying the former vice president is well-qualified “to meet the daunting challenges that the nation will face over the coming four years.”
In its opinion piece endorsing the former vice president on Monday, the newspaper’s editorial board knocked President Trump several times, writing the president’s “negative example has demonstrated how essential in a president are decency, empathy and respect for other human beings.”
The board added that Trump had “few accomplishments” for his first term and “no agenda for his second.”
The board said Biden would be qualified to meet the challenges in the nation that have been “created, exacerbated or neglected by the incumbent.”
They cited the top challenges to be the coronavirus pandemic, which Johns Hopkins University data shows has resulted in more than 7.1 million infections in the U.S. and led to more than 200,000 deaths, racial inequality and climate change.
“Underlying them all is the question of whether U.S. democracy is any longer capable of meeting even one such challenge, let alone a host of them. Here is where Mr. Trump has done the most damage — and where Mr. Biden is almost uniquely positioned for the moment. He would restore decency, honor and competence to America’s government,’ the editorial board stated.
Biden, the board said, would “better position the United States as a capitalist competitor to China” and offer “an enormously positive change from the Trump administration” when it comes to foreign policy.
The board also said Biden would reject what it referred to as the president’s “self-defeating ‘America first’ principle” and “return to tackling global challenges in partnership with other nations.”
“He would rejoin the Paris accord on climate change and seek to revive the nuclear deal with Iran. He would reverse Mr. Trump’s senseless withdrawal from the World Health Organization, and commit the United States to multilateral efforts to combat the coronavirus pandemic,” the board stated.
“Democracy is at risk, at home and around the world,” the board continued. “The nation desperately needs a president who will respect its public servants; stand up for the rule of law; acknowledge Congress’s constitutional role; and work for the public good, not his private benefit.”
“Just as desperately, it needs a president with the know-how and experience to show that values and results can go together. It is fortunate to have, in Joe Biden, a candidate who can lead an administration that is both honorable and successful,” it added.
Updated at 9:02 a.m.