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Liberal New York Times columnist Michelle Goldberg praised former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., for “setting an example” for an aging Democratic Party by announcing her retirement Thursday, calling on other members of the party to follow her lead.
In a column published Friday, Goldberg argued that while Pelosi “earned the right to consider herself indispensable,” she made the right decision by planning to step down at the end of her current term and not run for re-election.
“Pelosi was correct to step aside from her leadership role in 2022 to make way for a new generation, even if Hakeem Jeffries, her successor, hasn’t been nearly as impressive as she was. And she’s right to retire now, setting an example for a party with a serious gerontocracy problem,” the Times columnist wrote.
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Goldberg noted that the “most obvious” example of the Democratic Party’s “gerontocracy problem” was former President Joe Biden’s decision to run for re-election at the age of 81. “But the trouble goes far deeper,” she warned, recalling a time when the party was known for its “youthful vigor” with young faces like former Presidents John F. Kennedy, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama.
“Even Lyndon Johnson, no one’s idea of a fresh-faced tyro, was a mere 55 years old when he was sworn in in 1963. In recent years, the party got much older, and as it did, it became more stagnant,” Goldberg argued.
Comparing the two parties, Goldberg pointed out that more than 50 House Democrats are 70 or older — including Pelosi — compared to just over 30 Republicans.
The Times columnist pointed to a situation that she felt exemplified the problem facing the Democratic Party.
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“When Trump put Washington under a virtual military occupation, Eleanor Holmes Norton, the city’s sole delegate to the House, was nowhere to be seen. As The Times has reported, Norton, 88, struggles to do her job and sometimes appears not to recognize people she’s known for years. Nevertheless, she’s insisting on running for re-election,” Goldberg wrote.
Goldberg also mentioned Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., 74, calling him a “staid institutionalist” who is “either unwilling or unable to speak frankly about America’s spiraling political crises.”
While Goldberg contended that “Age is not a perfect proxy for being in touch with the zeitgeist,” citing Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., as an example, she pointed to New York City Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani’s recent win as an example of younger candidates’ “distinct advantages in reaching the emerging electorate.”
“Many aspects of Mamdani’s campaign may not be replicable outside a liberal metropolis. But one is: Democrats need charismatic young candidates who understand today’s fractured information ecosystem and know how to inspire hope in those who feel deeply disaffected. And to run candidates like that, older ones must make way,” Goldberg wrote.
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This isn’t the first time Goldberg has criticized the Democratic Party for relying on older candidates. In May, she reacted to revelations of Biden’s inner circle allegedly covering up for his mental decline, arguing that the Democratic Party engaged in “groupthink” and refused to allow dissent, especially in the critical final months of the campaign.
“There was certainly some covering-up going on, especially among Biden’s insular inner circle,” Goldberg wrote, responding to a book by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Axios’ Alex Thompson revealing the Biden team’s alleged “cover-up” of the former president’s health issues.
“But more than lying to the public about Biden’s increasing infirmity, I think too many Democrats were lying to themselves,” she argued. “The ‘original sin’ that party leaders now need to grapple with is their tendency toward groupthink, inertia and an extreme and wildly counterproductive risk aversion.”
The book, “Original Sin: President Biden’s Decline, Its Cover-Up, and His Disastrous Choice to Run Again,” included accounts from aides who reportedly discussed the possibility of Biden needing a wheelchair if he was elected to a second term and that the former president didn’t recognize A-list actor George Clooney at a political fundraiser in June 2024.
Goldberg, who also raised questions about Biden’s cognitive ability in the months before the election, said that the Democratic Party’s senior leadership was facing a reckoning for denying those concerns.
Fox News’ Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.
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