Aaron Sorkin retracts controversial essay calling for Democrats to nominate Mitt Romney: ‘I take it all back’

The West Wing creator Aaron Sorkin has retracted an essay he wrote for The New York Times Sunday morning after Joe Biden stepped down as the Democratic nominee later that same day.

In his essay, Sorkin proposed that the Democrats nominate former Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney in an attempt to unify the public and fend off a Trump victory.

Hours after the op-ed was published Biden, 81, announced he was stepping aside following weeks of resistance. He, along with several top Democrats, has now endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris as the party’s new nominee.

Via his West Wing star Joshua Malina, whom he asked to share his statement on Twitter/X, Sorkin said: “I take it all back. Harris for America!”

In his essay, Sorkin drew parallels between real-world events and his acclaimed TV series, which focused on the goings-on at the White House during the administration of Democrat Jed Bartlet (Martin Sheen).

Describing a plotline in which Bartlet chose to run for re-election despite being diagnosed with a serious illness, Sorkin said the plotline would have played out differently if his fictional opponent was a figure like Trump.

“What if Bartlet’s opponent had been a dangerous imbecile with an observable psychiatric disorder who related to his supporters on a fourth-grade level and treated the law as something for suckers and poor people?” He wrote. “And was a hero to white supremacists? We’d have had Bartlet drop out of the race and endorse whoever had the best chance of beating the guy.

“The problem in the real world is that there isn’t a Democrat who is polling significantly better than Mr Biden. And quitting, as heroic as it may be in this case, doesn’t really put a lump in our throats.”

He continued: “Nominating Mr Romney would be putting our money where our mouth is: a clear and powerful demonstration that this election isn’t about what our elections are usually about, but about stopping a deranged man from taking power,” he wrote. “Surely Mr Romney, who doesn’t have to be introduced to voters, would peel off enough Republican votes to win, probably by a lot.

“The double haters would be turned into single haters and the Nikki Haley voters would have somewhere to go, Ms Haley having disqualified herself when she endorsed the leader of an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the government.”

Since Biden announced his decision to pull out of the race, several celebrities, including Robert De Niro and Lizzo, have rushed to praise the president for his “selfless patriotism” while also throwing their support behind Harris.

On Monday’s episode of Morning Joe, Joe Scarborough claimed that Republicans are “freaking out” over Biden’s exit.

“Suddenly, [Trump’s] the oldest guy in the race by a long shot,” the MSNBC host said.