Some Democratic representatives have shared their concerns about Biden’s candidacy and have called on him to drop out.
Nearly a week after the first debate between the two presumptive presidential candidates in the 2024 race, the fallout from President Joe Biden’s poor performance continues.
The president has acknowledged that it was “not very smart” to go on the debate stage to face Donald Trump without having rested after his two consecutive trips abroad.
While he explained that almost falling asleep on stage is “no excuse” for his weak performance, it is “an explanation” to assuage concerns about his cognitive state of mind. Still, calls for him to step aside and allow another candidate to take his place as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee are beginning to add significant names.
The list of Democrats who want Biden to consider dropping out of the presidential race
Last Tuesday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first Democrat in Congress to call for Biden to drop out of the presidential race, citing the president’s failure “to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies.”
The congressman said “the stakes are too high to risk a Trump victory” and that the momentum of the campaign could shift if Biden were to drop out in the face of a younger candidate.
“While much of [Biden’s] work has been transformative, he was committed to being transitional,” Doggett said in a statement. “[Biden] has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from among whom a candidate can be chosen to unite our country through an open and democratic process,” he added.
Doggett is not the only one who has publicly expressed concern that Biden’s debate performance may have cost him the election. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington told a local radio station that “the damage has already been done by that debate” and believes that “Biden is going to lose to Trump.”
In addition, according to several reports, a letter is circulating from so-called “front-line” House Democrats calling on Biden to step aside. One House Democratic member who supports Biden and is not part of that group, which is estimated to number two dozen, told CBS that many people are signing the letter.
A source in the Biden-Harris campaign said they were aware of the letter and are working to nip in the bud any momentum that may be building behind it. The campaign has also said the president “absolutely will not” step aside despite a New York Times report based on an anonymous key ally that Biden is considering it. That has been refuted and called “absolutely false” by Andrew Bates, White House spokesman.
Following the debate, President Biden is scheduled to conduct his first interview this week with George Stephanopoulos. A portion will air on ABC on Friday night and a second segment will air on ABC’s ‘This Week’ on Sunday.
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