Democrats Will Blame America If Biden Loses

Democratic congressman Ritchie Torres provided Politico with some revealing color commentary for the outlet’s story on the “full-blown ‘freakout’” over Joe Biden’s languorous reelection campaign. “The election is more competitive than it should be, given the wretchedness of who Donald Trump is,” he said. “In a properly functioning democracy, Donald Trump should have no viable path to the presidency. The fact of a competitive race is cause for concern.”

Torres wandered into an impolitic insight here — one that his co-partisans have been careful to avoid stating outright. Previously, Democrats could safely impugn the judgment of the Republican elected officials who set themselves to rehabilitating Trump’s image following his indecorous conduct in the wake of the 2020 election. They could even cast their scorn on the Republican primary voters who saw fit to nominate him to the White House for a third time. But Democrats cannot lament the present state of the general-election campaign without questioning the collective judgment of the American electorate — their own voters among them — and the virtue of the mechanisms of self-government.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.

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Democratic congressman Ritchie Torres provided Politico with some revealing color commentary for the outlet’s story on the “full-blown ‘freakout’” over Joe Biden’s languorous reelection campaign. “The election is more competitive than it should be, given the wretchedness of who Donald Trump is,” he said. “In a properly functioning democracy, Donald Trump should have no viable path to the presidency. The fact of a competitive race is cause for concern.”

Torres wandered into an impolitic insight here — one that his co-partisans have been careful to avoid stating outright. Previously, Democrats could safely impugn the judgment of the Republican elected officials who set themselves to rehabilitating Trump’s image following his indecorous conduct in the wake of the 2020 election. They could even cast their scorn on the Republican primary voters who saw fit to nominate him to the White House for a third time. But Democrats cannot lament the present state of the general-election campaign without questioning the collective judgment of the American electorate — their own voters among them — and the virtue of the mechanisms of self-government.

About the Author

Noah Rothman

Noah Rothman is a senior writer at National Review. His third book, Blood and Progress: A Century of Left-Wing Violence, was published by Hachette in May 2026.