The Week: The GOP Falls Short Again

• China is bringing its pandas home, no doubt to be debriefed.

• A New York Times/Siena poll showing Donald Trump beating Joe Biden in the swing states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania has set off a Democratic panic. Polling finds Trump unpopular but Biden equally or more so, as the public tires of high prices, an insecure border, and foreign crises. Majorities also consider Biden, who turns 81 in November, too old to serve another term. David Axelrod, former chief adviser to Barack Obama, acknowledged the obvious: Biden might well lose in 2024, and as his party’s default nominee he needs to decide “whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s” to run again. Another Democrat, Bill Kristol, explicitly called on Biden to step aside. What we’re seeing is nothing particularly new: Biden’s job-approval rating has been underwater since the Afghanistan-withdrawal debacle, and the “right track”/“wrong track” poll responses have been terrible throughout his term. The risks of nominating the elderly, rambling Biden for another four years have been obvious for a long time; in 2019, there was considerable talk about Biden being a “bridge” or “transition” president. But he may end up serving as a bridge back to Trump.

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• China is bringing its pandas home, no doubt to be debriefed.

• A New York Times/Siena poll showing Donald Trump beating Joe Biden in the swing states Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Pennsylvania has set off a Democratic panic. Polling finds Trump unpopular but Biden equally or more so, as the public tires of high prices, an insecure border, and foreign crises. Majorities also consider Biden, who turns 81 in November, too old to serve another term. David Axelrod, former chief adviser to Barack Obama, acknowledged the obvious: Biden might well lose in 2024, and as his party’s default nominee he needs to decide “whether that is wise; whether it’s in HIS best interest or the country’s” to run again. Another Democrat, Bill Kristol, explicitly called on Biden to step aside. What we’re seeing is nothing particularly new: Biden’s job-approval rating has been underwater since the Afghanistan-withdrawal debacle, and the “right track”/“wrong track” poll responses have been terrible throughout his term. The risks of nominating the elderly, rambling Biden for another four years have been obvious for a long time; in 2019, there was considerable talk about Biden being a “bridge” or “transition” president. But he may end up serving as a bridge back to Trump.