Top Democratic lawmakers are urging President Biden to withdraw from the November 5 presidential election due to increasing concerns about his age and ability to defeat Republican candidate Donald Trump.
In a private meeting led by Hakeem Jeffries, the Democratic Representative of New York and minority leader, senior Democratic lawmakers discussed strategies to persuade Mr. Biden to step down, as they believe his chances against Mr. Trump are slim, according to a report by the New York Times on Monday.
Sources familiar with the confidential discussion revealed that senior House Democrats, during a virtual meeting, deliberated on leveraging their collective influence to convince Mr. Biden that he had little chance of winning against Mr. Trump. The consensus was that a change in the presidential candidate was necessary to maintain the party’s prospects of retaining the White House and controlling Congress.
These calls for Mr. Biden to step down intensified following his subpar performance during the June 27 presidential debate against Mr. Trump.
The Times, in an editorial piece, also urged Mr. Biden to withdraw, citing his poor debate performance, where he appeared confused and struggled to maintain his train of thought, raising concerns about his mental and cognitive sharpness.
Despite acknowledging his poor performance in the debate, Mr. Biden has remained adamant about continuing his re-election campaign and has dismissed calls for him to step down.
On Friday, Mr. Biden, 81, tweeted, “I’m the nominee of the Democratic party. I’m staying in the race.”
In an interview with ABC News the same day, Mr. Biden attributed his lackluster debate performance to jet lag but emphasized that only divine intervention could make him withdraw from the race.
“I mean if the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get outta the race’, I would get outta the race,” Mr. Biden told ABC News. “The Lord Almighty’s not coming down. I mean, these hypotheticals.”
