Last Sunday, President Joe Biden made what must have been among the most difficult decisions in a long and storied political career: He dropped out of the 2024 presidential race.

Despite the growing pressure from the Democratic establishment and even his falling poll numbers, his decision to remove himself from the race at such a late stage was honestly shocking. But it was also an example of pure altruism, an act of putting country above self.

Compare that selflessness to the actions of former President Donald Trump. Biden, when facing an existential threat to the country, opted to step aside for the good of the nation. Trump, when facing a legitimate referendum on his presidency — in losing the 2020 election — opted to try to delegitimize the results and steal the election for his own personal gains.

The characters of these two men are resoundingly polar. One is a servant to his country; the other sees in the country an opportunity to serve himself.

But while Biden’s decision to drop out was selfless, well-intentioned and ultimately the correct move, we should not forget that he and his team chose to plow ahead this far despite Biden’s declines becoming ever more evident. Instead of giving Americans a proper primary and a realistic shot at defeating Trump with a truly democratically elected leader, Biden and his inner circle only faced reality once they could no longer hide his lack of fitness.

This is shameful behavior.

Sure, Biden has insisted that he was the best candidate to beat Trump because he had already beaten him once. But the ego to assume that he was the only candidate who could beat Trump, and thus somehow deserved the Democratic nomination, is unsettling.

Worse still are the actions of those close to him. Of course, Biden wanted to fight. But those who had his ear must have known about his declines and the liabilities they created in such a pivotal election. Biden’s family and his staff owed it to the nation to act before the spectacular debacle of the debate.

Still, it is difficult right now

to want to pillory Biden; he has been a good president and a good servant of his country.

But while he has made the correct decision in choosing to withdraw, he is leaving his country in a bind.

Trump is an existential threat to our democracy. That is irrefutable.

This means that Democrats must field a strong candidate who has a real shot at beating him — for the sake of the nation.

But, whoever this candidate is going to be is not going to be someone chosen in a primary election to represent the millions of voters who are registered Democrats. And as it stands right now, even more representation is going to be lost, as any hope for an open convention seems foregone.

Instead, Biden has anointed his successor: Kamala Harris. And in a matter of days, she has gathered enough delegates to seal the nomination — all without any challengers.

Harris, of course, is a strong leader. And her candidacy would break barriers that should have been broken long ago. She would be the first candidate from a major party to be a Black woman, which also means she would be the first woman and first Black female president and the first president of South Asian descent. This would be historic and would bring invaluable diversity to the corridors of power.

And America should be ready for this — a Black female president.

But Harris as a candidate appears to be lacking.

It will take time for polls to properly measure the Harris vs. Trump matchup, but so far Harris is still no match for the former president. According to a poll released on Wednesday, Harris improved on Biden’s abysmal numbers but still trailed Trump, 49% to 46%. She also loses to him in key battleground states like Pennsylvania.

Of course, a lot could change in the coming weeks and months. Biden’s withdrawal and Harris’ candidacy have added excitement to the race, which could generate a swing in her favor. Plus, her entry has fundamentally changed the race. Voters across the country had been resoundingly negative about two familiar old white men running the same race as in 2020. Harris is a new dimension.

Still, the presumption that because Harris is vice president and Biden has endorsed her that she is the nominee is disconcerting. There are undoubtedly stronger candidates. Gretchen Whitmer, the governor of Michigan, Andy Beshear, the governor of Kentucky, and Josh Shapiro, the governor of Pennsylvania, all bring the ability to win key Rust Belt states, and they would not be saddled with the unpopularity of the Biden administration (currently only 38% of Americans approve of the president), nor with Harris’ notorious failure as the “Border Czar.”

(It is also worth noting that one poll from earlier this month did have one Democrat beating Trump: Michelle Obama.)

This, of course, is a loaded argument to make. To say our country is ready for a Black female president, just not this Black female president is potentially problematic, as it is a piece of rhetoric that has been historically used to deny Black women opportunities. This legacy of implicit racism is real and deeply harmful. And, it must be said, we are not trying to employ such cynical tactics. Rather, our concerns about Harris simply have to do with her ability to beat Trump — and the importance of Trump not winning a second term.

Equality and racial justice should never be put on the back burner. But considering what Trump and Project 2025 seek to do to our country, it is our belief that Democrats should conduct an open convention in order to pick the candidate with the best chance of winning in November and holding off what could be a potentially ruinous four more years of Trump.

Harris’ candidacy also doesn’t take into mind what Democrats — and Americans — need: a plan for the future.

Biden’s candidacy has been built on simply running against Trump’s record, with the hope that Americans are afraid enough of Trump that Biden could win. In a perfect world, this would work.

Trump was an inept and undignified president who used the office for his own gain and for the enrichment of his friends. While in office, his businesses raked in $2.4 billion, and Trump himself received at least $7.8 million from foreign entities. And after being deployed by the White House to ease tensions in the Middle East, Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law, managed to secure a $2 billion investment from Saudi Arabia for his private equity fund. (That is just one example of many of how Trump’s family profited off his presidency.)

Trump is also a sexual abuser, a con man and a felon.

But he is the leader of a cult of personality. And he is somehow more popular than Biden.

What Democrats need then is a candidate who has a substantial platform with clear ideas about how to handle the issues Americans are worried about: inflation, the economy, crime and safety, health care, and the border. A good candidate should also have a plan to tackle deficit spending and the national debt and protect Social Security and Medicare/Medicaid.

It is clear that Harris is a step up from Biden. And if she is the nominee, it is our hope that she can galvanize Democrats and independents and build a coalition against Trump.

But what is the harm in having a truly open convention and letting delegates from all 50 states decide who would make the best candidate? It seems exceedingly unlikely that infighting would fracture party cohesion. Democrats are aligned in their desire to beat Trump, and there are a host of strong potential candidates that the base would be eager to rally behind.

Beating Trump is necessary to protect our democracy and the functioning of our government. The Democratic establishment owes it to every American to pick a candidate who has the best chance of winning.

If Kamala Harris is that candidate, we will nonetheless hope she is capable of winning in November. But we must remember that this moment demands inspiration and brave leadership, not blind partisanship.

Biden was selfless enough to give Democrats a real chance to beat Trump. Now they must prove that they can do it.

Gary Garrison for the Editorial Board