President Joe Biden faces a growing tidal wave of opposition and calls for him to leave the presidential race from his own party, with more elected Democrats coming out against him seemingly every day.
Meanwhile, unconfirmed media reports from multiple outlets have suggested Biden is considering bowing out of the race and could make the announcement in the coming days.
Despite those reports, Biden’s campaign released a statement Friday saying that the president will resume campaigning next week.
U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., released a statement on Friday calling for Biden to step aside so that another Democrat can take on former President Donald Trump in November.
Heinrich is the third elected senator to do so, joining dozens of House Democrats and other party leaders. This kind of revolt within the party is highly unusual, though Biden does have publicly voiced support from about 75 Democrats, according to a tally from the New York Times.
Most Democrats questioning Biden have made a similar argument: Biden has a great legacy, but he probably can’t beat Trump in November.
A leading Democrat in the House, U.S. Rep. Adam Schiff of California, made that argument earlier this week when he called on Biden to step aside.
“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” Schiff said.
Freshly certified Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance took a shot at Biden on Friday, questioning his cognitive decline and questioning if Biden should leave the White House altogether.
“If Joe Biden doesn’t have the cognitive function to run for re-election, then he certainly doesn’t have the cognitive function to remain as Commander-In-Chief,” Vance wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “How can any Dem pushing him to drop out of the presidential race, argue in good faith that he should stay on as POTUS?”
Biden’s woes gained steam after his disastrous debate performance at the end of last month put his campaign on defense as traditionally liberal media questioned his fitness and Democrats began calling for him to leave the race.
Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt last weekend, further rallying his base and making him more sympathetic to Independents. Even before the assassination attempt, Trump led Biden nationally in polling and in nearly every key battleground state.
Biden has so far publicly insisted he will remain the party’s nominee. Since the assassination attempt and Biden began quarantining for his COVID-19 infection, the pressure has ramped up even more.
If Biden does drop out, a key question will be whether he decides to endorse Vice President Kamala Harris or to leave the Democratic National Convention in August open for other likely contenders, such Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom or others to make a play for the nomination.
Meanwhile, Republicans and Trump’s fiercest supporters have been propelled by Trump’s wins, his attempted assassination survival, and seem more confident than ever about November.
“The Democrat party is in more chaos than ever,” U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “While they try to force out a feeble old man who refuses to give up the wheel, they remain unified on disastrous policies that have ravaged our country. Will Biden drop out? Maybe.
“Will it matter? No.
“The American people need Donald Trump, and in November, we’re sending him back to the White House,” she added.
