Media figures who urged Biden to drop out stay quiet on president's ability to serve now

President Biden is facing calls from prominent network figures, columnists and allies in the media to drop out of the race — but many have stopped short of asking the commander in chief to step down as president despite concerns about his age and mental acuity.

Liberal journalist Jonathan Alter echoed the sentiments of a bevy of media voices who soured on Biden's candidacy following his widely panned debate performance, writing that the president is "too old to serve" and Democrats should hold an open convention.  

In a statement to Fox News Digital, Alter said, "I believe the Democrats need a different nominee in order to beat Donald Trump and save the republic from a dangerous man who is bent on destroying it."

"Biden is too old to be the candidate and to be president until 2029 but he is not too old to serve out his term," he added.

After the debate, the New York Times' Maureen Dowd compared Biden to former President Trump and suggested the president was being selfish by remaining in the race.

"He's putting himself ahead of the country. He's surrounded by opportunistic enablers," Dowd said. "He has created a reality distortion field where we're told not to believe what we've plainly seen. His hubris is infuriating. He says he's doing this for us, but he's really doing it for himself."

Dowd wrote that Biden has "clearly been declining" for the last couple of years and "looked ghostly" with a "trepidatious gait" at the debate. She also suggested that Biden did not just have an "off night" and called his blitz towards re-election an "extraordinarily risky bet."

When asked if Biden was fit to perform his duties for the remainder of his term, Dowd referred Fox News Digital to her column and did not provide further comment.