Nearly 20 Democrats in Congress have called on Biden to quit race
The reelection campaign of President Joe Biden is facing calls by an increasing number of Democrats in Congress to quit the race against former President Donald Trump and allow a new nominee to top the ticket.
Shortly after Biden gave a rare news conference Thursday that was intended to allay fears about his cognitive health, three more House Democrats said he should exit the contest.
Several more lawmakers joined that group Friday, making for at least 19 Democratic members of Congress so far who have called on him to drop out. There are 213 Democrats in the House, and 47 Democrats in the Senate.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“I have deep respect for President Biden’s five plus decades of public service and incredible appreciation for the work we’ve done together these last three and a half years,” said Rep. Mike Levin, D-Calif., in a statement on Friday afternoon.
“But I believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch,” Levin said.
Biden at Thursday’s news conference reiterated he would continue running for a second term, saying that nothing would make him reconsider that decision save for polls showing he had no chance of winning.
“No one’s saying that,” said Biden, who was set to give a campaign speech in Detroit later Friday. “No poll says that.”
Biden made it through the hourlong news conference and answered reporters’ questions, prompting his campaign to declare victory over his naysayers.
But his halting speech and misstatements — such as referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” — did little to win over members of his party. Nor did his argument for why he was staying in the race.
“I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president,” Biden said. “I beat Trump once, and I will beat him again.”
Biden briefly acknowledged his poor approval ratings, but only by noting that there were “at least five presidents running or incumbent presidents who had lower numbers than I have now later in the campaign.”
“There’s a long way to go this campaign. And so I, I’m just going to keep moving, keep moving, and because, look, I got more work to do. We got more work to finish.”
