Chris Hayes states that Joe Biden “will be the Democratic candidate unless he chooses not to be”

On Friday night, Chris Hayes took no clear position on the widespread panic (among anonymous Democratic Party leaders and pundits) over Joe Biden’s performance in the previous evening’s debate with Donald Trump – although he did express concern that the president was “probably not the strongest candidate” to defeat his “extremely dangerous opponent.”

However, Hayes noted that Biden is the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee – “unless he chooses not to be.” Watch the clip below:

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Hayes was, of course, talking about Thursday night’s Biden-Trump rematch debate, in which Trump lied constantly and about everything while Biden, metaphorically speaking, fell flat on his face. Biden’s performance was so poor that there are now widespread (and probably unrealistic) calls for him to step down as a candidate. (Though, oddly, no such calls have been made for his convicted opponent, who tried to overthrow the government just four years ago.) You can read more about that here.

Hayes began by noting that Biden has been in office “for over 50 years” and that “he is a perfectly capable politician who has run in and won many elections in his life, including as a 29-year-old young man” who “defeated Trump the first time around.”

“He has a good record,” Hayes said, before admitting, “His future looks much more uncertain.”

“The New York Times editorial board today took the unprecedented step of calling on Biden to drop out of the race, writing that there was ‘no reason for the party to risk the stability and security of the country by forcing voters to choose between Mr. Trump’s shortcomings and those of Mr. Biden. It is too great a risk to simply hope that Americans will overlook or ignore Mr. Biden’s age and frailty, they see it with their own eyes,'” Hayes quoted as saying.

While Hayes acknowledged that all signs indicate Biden does not plan to resign, he added that resignation would be complicated and “a step that carries its own risks.”

But, he continued, “I think the quantitative and qualitative data, the polls and the eye test tell us that this is probably not the strongest Democratic candidate who can defeat an extremely dangerous man who poses an existential threat to democracy.”

“Ultimately, Joe Biden has to decide this now. He won the primary. He got the most delegate votes. He is a Democratic Party candidate and will be the Democratic Party candidate unless he chooses not to be,” Hayes concluded.