Biden camp claims outlet that called for him to drop out of race is guilty of 'undue influence' over election

President Joe Biden's campaign has accused a news outlet of "undue influence" over the presidential election after it published an op-ed from the editorial board calling for the incumbent president to step out of the race. Several other outlets have also done the same.

The accusations were cast against the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's editorial board after the outlet published a piece titled, "It's time for Biden to pass the torch." Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who is now a senior advisor for the president, said that she was "very disappointed with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution" for the opinion piece.

"We have talked about making sure we're protecting elections and making sure there's no undue influence, this was undue influence by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution or an attempt to influence," Bottoms added. "Editorial boards are supposed to honor fair elections. I don't think it's fair when an editorial board with ten people sitting in a room are trying to influence an election, especially in a state like Georgia where there's already been discussions about influencing elections."

Bottoms added that she did not recall the different news outlets telling Trump to step down in response to him asking the "secretary of state to find 11,000 votes." She added, "So if you're going to ask a candidate to step aside, let's also look at Donald Trump's record and all of the reasons, including his indictment in Fulton County, trying to influence the secretary of state, his convictions."

The AJC wrote about the debate, "This wasn't a bad night. It was confirmation of the worst fears of some of Biden's most ardent supporters. Biden deserves a better exit in public life than the one he endured when he shuffled off the stage on Thursday night."

Other outlets such as the New York Times, the New Yorker, the Chicago Tribune directly called for Biden to step down. Similarly to the campaign's attitude to the AJC editorial board's opinion, the Biden camp was dismissive to the call from the Times with Biden campaign co-chair Cedric Richmond saying, “The last time Joe Biden lost the New York Times editorial board’s endorsement it turned out pretty well for him."  

Since Biden’s disasterous debate performance last week, allies closest to Biden have reportedly launched a PR campaign strategy that involves dismissing concerns over the debate and reassuring donors about Biden’s mental capacity.