MAUREEN CALLAHAN: There’s a hidden message in Biden’s humiliating withdrawal letter that should terrify every American. And the shaming question: Who on EARTH is running this country?

What a disgraceful end to a disgraceful presidency. Rather than exit this presidential race with dignity, rather than show long-suffering Americans the respect we deserve, President Joe Biden hastily declared he’s out — on social media.

Joe Biden’s ghosted us! LBJ in 1968 this is not. In fact, this withdrawal — in tone, tenor, shame, and bitterness — calls to mind none other than Richard Nixon’s resignation. Biden has humiliated himself, the nation, the Democratic elites, megadonors and liberal-media enablers who spent years covering for him.

And he didn’t even initially endorse his Vice President! Someone had to clean up Aisle 9 on X with a hasty follow-up Kamala endorsement tweet. ‘I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country for me to stand down,’ his letter read. Finally! Dr. Jill must be under heavy sedation.

Her personal account on X, as of this writing, is still bannered: ‘Let’s finish the job’. She could only bring herself to retweet her husband’s letter with no remarks of her own, just a love heart emoji. Stay classy, Jill and Joe. So suddenly did this Sunday afternoon announcement land that one wonders if it was released before Biden could change his mind.

Before Hunter could fly back from his Malibu manse. Before Barack Obama would be forced to give the fatal shove. Announcements of this magnitude are typically presaged with an alert to the media. Early reports are that Biden’s top campaign staff didn’t know about the letter, with a handful told just one minute before someone pushed ‘publish’.

It all raises more questions. Such as: Who wrote it? When was it drafted? Was it his decision alone, or was he coereced? Why didn’t Biden, like LBJ before him, announce his monumental decision to stand down during a primetime televised address from the Oval? Is he that far gone — unable to read prepared marks from a teleprompter? Who is running this country?

This, truly, is the only question that matters. Yet in this boilerplate, thoroughly self-aggrandizing letter, in which Biden claims he’s pulled an FDR with the American economy and says he’s left the nation better than he found it — ‘America has never been better positioned to lead than we are today’ — he says he’s going to serve the rest of his term.

Yes, Biden’s focus — something he has loose possession of from the hours of 10am to 4pm — is now ‘on fulfilling my duties as President’ until January. Read this, my friends, in a hoarse Joe Biden whisper: He can’t do it.

This man has no business staying in the most consequential job on the planet. He has no business with access to the nuclear codes. He needs to resign immediately, turn the keys over to Kamala, and prep for what should be an in-depth investigation into the cover-up regarding his health and cognitive decline.