To date, plenty of news outlets have suggested that President Biden should step down due to his age. “Joe Biden should bow out,” said a Washington Post opinion piece in September 2023. “Democrats Might Need a Plan B,” echoed Politico Magazine in February, which proceeded to provide “the political and procedural steps for how to pick a new presidential nominee.” But it’s been four days since Donald Trump was found guilty on 34 felony counts, and so far, it’s crickets. Trump’s not even above the fold anymore on CNN.com; his spot’s been taken by Hunter Biden.

Apparently, it has fallen to me, a lowly freelancer, to be perhaps the first Brooklyn journalist to call for convicted felon Donald J. Trump to do what he might well have done after many of his liaisons: pull out. Yes, he should pull out of the 2024 presidential race.

Trump’s not known for pulling out, true. But to ask a question similar to the one raised by Frederic, the lead character in Gilbert and Sullivan’s “Pirates of Penzance,” “Is there not one?” Is there not one fearless member of the Republican Party who can convince their compatriots that Trump should be forced out at this point? After all, Republicans had to gang up on Nixon, and it took Barry Goldwater’s leadership to convince him to resign.

Even if you’re among those saying the New York jury was “suspect,” the deliberation “faux,” and Trump’s transgressions “victimless misdemeanors” and not felonies, the fact remains that, as the London Times noted on May 31, Donald Trump is now a convicted felon who “faces 57 more felony charges in three other jurisdictions. He is set to spend much of this year in court.”

Red or Blue, is that really what we want from a U.S. presidential nominee? How does it benefit America to have a presidential hopeful — let alone a president — whose attention is so divided and whose time, energy and finances are so sapped by multiple ongoing lawsuits and court appearances?

What is the role of POTUS for, anyway? Article II, Section 2 of the U.S. Constitution states, “The president shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States … He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties … shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the Supreme Court” and more.

If Trump is sentenced to jail time — a real possibility — will he be doing all that from Rikers? Will Rikers replace Mar-a-Lago as the Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall White House? Just think of the money that will have to be spent on renovating the place: New hair salon, new quarters for the Secret Service, etc!

I believe there are still reasonable people among the conservatives. People who hope to salvage their beloved GOP (Grand Old Party). People who secretly hate Donald J. Trump and the ignominy he’s brought to their political and personal doorsteps. These people should step up and speak out. They may have been flying in the slipstream of Trump’s juggernaut since 2016, but I think they’re out there. And I’m hoping that, taken together, the recent 34 unanimous guilty verdicts will be the proverbial straw that breaks the rogue elephant’s back.

Hush money to Stormy Daniels aside, it will be easy for them to make their case. Take the Jan. 6 debacle, for instance. Per the AP, roughly two-thirds of the 750 or so rioters who’ve been sentenced so far have gotten jail time, and Trump is currently facing a four-count indictment over it. His trial date is unknown at this time; it may not happen until after the election. But as many have noted, Trump’s repeated and highly visible claims that the 2020 election was “rigged” were the riot’s root cause — and possibly reason enough for him to be disqualified for office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

Imagine Trump running, being reelected, and the whole world watching as the president of the United States stands trial for election interference. It’s a vision disturbing — and now plausible — enough to make “both sides” shudder. “President Trump needs to step down,” wrote New York Congresswoman Nydia M. Velázquez, back on Jan. 6, 2021. Two days later, Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski revealed that she was on the same page. “I want [Trump] out,” she told the Anchorage Daily News. “He has caused enough damage.”

Flash forward three years, Trump has been found liable for the sexual assault and defamation of E. Jean Carroll in separate lawsuits and was ordered to pay her a whopping $88.3 million in total damages. That sends a horrifying message two ways: human and economic. Taken on their own, the E. Jean cases haven’t slowed Trump’s reelection run. The “grab ’em by the pussy” crowd no doubt views the assault as either a lie or harmless “locker room behavior.” Combine the Carroll suits with the 34 felonies, four indictments and 57 pending cases, though, and they might have an impact.

America’s Checks and Balances system has fallen so far off the rails that it’s going to take a miracle to get us back on track. I’m hoping the 34 guilty verdicts will be that miracle. If they aren’t — if Trump is allowed to be the GOP nominee in spite of (because of?) his official criminalism — I guess we’ll just have to think a bit more out of the box.

One creative colleague had this brainstorm: Republicans could placate Trump by making him the first-ever Special Adviser to the president instead of POTUS. “Trump could be given a title, which should be in a foreign language,” this person suggested. “Something like ‘Grand Poobah’ [another Gilbert and Sullivan reference, from “The Mikado”]. The deal would guarantee the Grand Poobah a starring role in a new Netflix series and a $110 million budget for haircare and cosmetics. A permanent special counsel would be appointed to the Grand Poobah to defend him in all subsequent domestic, civil and sexual abuse lawsuits. Also, the Grand Poobah would be guaranteed a weekly press conference with official trappings and the assurance that he won’t have to read anything off a teleprompter.”

Well, there! I’ve officially run that idea up the flagpole. We’ll see if anyone salutes.

In the meantime, here’s hoping that Trump’s foreign allies — and the many alliances he’s made off the radar — will realize he’s more trouble than he’s worth and that they, too, will urge him to “just pull out.”