Explainer
The
Democrats who have called on Joe Biden to step down
A growing
number of Democratic officials have publicly called for Biden to quit, or
reportedly done so in private
Martin
Pengelly in Washington
Wed 10 Jul
2024 20.50 EDT
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jul/08/democrats-calling-joe-biden-to-step-down
After Joe
Biden’s disastrous performance in his first debate against Donald Trump
supercharged concerns about his age and fitness for office, the president faces
growing calls to stand down as the Democratic nominee this November.
Biden has
pushed back hard, telling MSNBC that “elites in the party” were behind calls
for him to quit, claiming strong support from actual voters, and challenging
doubters in his own party to “run against me. Go ahead. Announce for president
– challenge me at the convention!”
Nobody has
gone that far yet but a growing number of elected Democratic officials have
either publicly called for Biden to quit or reportedly done so in private. Here
they are:
Lloyd
Doggett (Texas)
The Texas
congressman veteran was first out of the gate, saying last week: “Recognising
that, unlike [Donald] Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been
to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and
difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so.”
Raúl
Grijalva (Arizona)
A senior
progressive congressman from a battleground state, Grijalva has sway in his
party. Following Doggett, the 76-year-old told the New York Times: “What
[Biden] needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat – and
part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.” Grijalva also said
Democrats “have to win this race, and we have to hold the House and hold the
Senate”, because if not, the party’s achievements under Biden would “go down
the sewer”.
Seth Moulton
(Massachusetts)
The former
US marine and congressman, who briefly challenged Biden for the nomination in
2020, told a Boston radio station: “President Biden has done enormous service
to our country, but now is the time for him to follow in one of our founding
father George Washington’s footsteps and step aside to let new leaders rise
up.” Moulton has since doubled down, citing the “disaster” of the debate.
Mike Quigley
(Illinois)
Speaking to
MSNBC on Friday, Quigley, a congressman from Illinois, said: “Mr President,
your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. The only thing
that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe
is to step down and let someone else do this.”
Angie Craig
(Minnesota)
On Saturday,
the congresswoman said: “Given what I saw and heard from the president during
last week’s debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of a forceful response
from the president himself following that debate, I do not believe that the
president can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump. That’s why I
respectfully call on President Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee
for a second term as president and allow for a new generation of leaders to
step forward.”
Adam Smith
(Washington)
On Monday,
the top Democrat on the House armed services committee said the party’s
candidate for president must be able to clearly, articulately and strongly make
his or her case to the American people. “It is clear that President Biden is no
longer able to meet this burden,” Smith said, on CNN. Smith also said he was
“pleading” with Biden to “take a step back. Look at what’s best for the party,
look at what’s best for the country.”
Mikie
Sherrill (New Jersey)
On Tuesday,
the New Jersey congresswoman said in a statement that the stakes of a second
Trump presidency were too high for her to stay silent. “I know that President
Biden and his team have been true public servants and have put the country and
the best interests of democracy first and foremost in their considerations,”
she said. “And because I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of
our country, I am asking that he declare that he won’t run for re-election and
will help lead us through a process toward a new nominee.”
Pat Ryan
(New York)
The
congressman from New York who faces a tough re-election bid in November told
the New York Times Wednesday that Biden should step aside. “I’d be doing a
grave disservice if I said he was the best candidate to serve this fall,” he
said. “For the good of our country, for my two young kids, I’m asking Joe Biden
to step aside in the upcoming election and deliver on the promise to be a
bridge to a new generation of leaders.” He added: “I really hope, with all my
heart, that he will listen.”
Peter Welch
(Vermont)
Late
Wednesday evening, Vermont senator Peter Welch called on Biden to withdraw from
the election, becoming the first Senate Democrat to do so. Welch said he is
worried because “the stakes could not be higher.” Welch said in a Washington
Post opinion piece: “I understand why President Biden wants to run. He saved us
from Donald Trump once and wants to do it again. But he needs to reassess
whether he is the best candidate to do so. In my view, he is not.
“For the
good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race.”
Reported:
Jerry Nadler (New York), Mark Takano (California), Joe Morelle (New York)
According to
multiple reports, on Sunday three senior Democratic congressmen joined Smith in
using a private call arranged by Hakeem Jeffries, the House minority leader, to
call for Biden to stand down. Others on the call reportedly expressed serious
concerns but did not go so far as to say Biden should quit.
Nadler is a
senior figure, the top Democrat on the House judiciary committee. On Capitol
Hill on Tuesday, though, he signaled a retreat, telling reporters: “As the
president said, 90% of Democrats voted for him in the primaries and that’s the
end of the matter.”
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