New York Times columnist rips Biden, says his legacy isn't pretty

A New York Times columnist published a scathing op-ed this week that heavily criticized former President Joe Biden, claiming his legacy is "not pretty," marking a change for the paper that has largely flown to his defense.

The opinion piece emphasized the Biden family's refusal to disappear into the shadows ahead of a critical election period, despite the urging from Democrats to do so, with the release of former first lady Jill Biden's memoir earlier this month and Hunter Biden's return to social media.  

"On the final page of her book, Jill makes plain that the Bidens are determined to stick around: 'As Dylan Thomas wrote, we will not go gentle into that good night, but rage, rage against the dying of the light,'" columnist Carlos Lozada wrote Tuesday. "Nothing like quoting from a poem about defiance in the face of age and mortality to remind people of what went wrong with Joseph R. Biden Jr."

The opinion piece highlighted how the Biden presidency was overshadowed by both of President Donald Trump's administrations and how he became a one-term president because his "substantive defeats at times offered temporary political advantages, but his major successes failed to deliver sustained political benefits."

The piece also claimed that Biden's administration was so unpopular that any member of his team would likely struggle to get the Democratic nomination for president in 2028, including former Vice President Kamala Harris, who struggled to explain how she would handle abortion if she won the election. 

Lozada said the defining aspect of the Biden administration was its approach to equity and his attempt to "save the nation’s soul," by defeating Trump and ushering in a "new beginning for the country after four years of toxic politics," as Jill Biden wrote in her memoir.

"Even accepting this platitudinous mission statement, that new beginning barely got started," Lozada wrote. "The good memories remain distant. And a kinder America feels ever more remote ... Failure does not always mean departure. As Dylan Thomas wrote, wise men at their end know dark is right. Yet the Bidens still rage, rage against the dying of the spotlight."

The column is notable because the outlet is rarely critical of Biden. But the New York Times' editorial board did call for the former president to drop out of the 2024 election after his debate performance against Trump in June 2024.

"As it stands, the president is engaged in a reckless gamble. There are Democratic leaders better equipped to present clear, compelling and energetic alternatives to a second Trump presidency," the board wrote at the time. "It’s too big a bet to simply hope Americans will overlook or discount Mr. Biden’s age and infirmity that they see with their own eyes."

Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.