At least five Democratic lawmakers have expressed that President Joe Biden should step down from the upcoming US presidential election scheduled for November 5. According to multiple news reports, the lawmakers include Jerry Nadler, Mark Takano, Joe Morelle, Ted Lieu, and Adam Smith.
They voiced their opinions during a Democratic Party phone call organized to discuss Biden’s poor debate performance against his Republican rival, Donald Trump, in Atlanta on June 27.
Biden himself described his debate performance as “a bad night.” His approval ratings have declined, and his own party colleagues have started questioning his health and ability to govern for another four years. Despite this, Biden has asserted that he is staying in the race and expressed confidence that he will win the election against Trump in November.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries convened a virtual meeting of his party colleagues in the House of Representatives to discuss the political implications of the June 27 presidential debate.
The virtual meeting was billed as a “listening session” to gather input from members about Biden’s candidacy. “The New York Times” reported that it was clear before the call that many top Democrats felt strongly that Biden had to go.
Congressman Smith, the ranking member of the Armed Services Committee, stated it is time for Biden to go, according to two people familiar with the call. The four other Congressmen agreed and believed it was time for Biden to exit the race. “Lieu was the highest-ranking person in the House Democratic leadership to support pressing for Biden to not seek reelection,” “The Washington Post” reported.
“The developments opened a wide crack in Biden’s wall of support, bringing the number of House Democrats publicly or privately saying he should step aside to about 10. They included the top Democrats on the Judiciary, Armed Services and Intelligence committees. The defections cast further doubts on Biden’s path forward, even as he largely controls his own fate thanks to sweeping the Democratic presidential primaries,” “The Wall Street Journal” reported.
Despite these calls, Biden and his team remained defiant, asserting that he is still in the race. Biden himself has expressed confidence that he would defeat Trump in November. On Sunday, Biden was in Pennsylvania, addressing rallies and meeting people in the key battleground state.
