Topline
Almost 20 House Democrats have publicly urged President Joe Biden to end his 2024 presidential bid—joining a growing list of politicians, pundits, billionaire donors and pro-Biden celebrities pushing the president to drop out since his rocky debate two weeks ago.
President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump participate in the first presidential debate ... [+]
Key Facts
Reps. Brittany Pettersen, D-Colo., and Mike Levin, D-Calif., became the 18th and 19th Democrats in Congress to publicly call on Biden to drop his bid, with both praising Biden’s years of public service but saying it was time for Biden to stand down.
Reps. Jim Himes, D-Conn., Scott Peters, D-Calif., and Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., pushed Biden to end his campaign Thursday evening, issuing statements right after Biden ended a high-stakes press conference wrapping up a NATO summit, that was widely viewed as a key opportunity to stop the Democratic defections.
A litany of other House Democrats publicly urged Biden to stand down earlier this week: Reps. Greg Stanton, D-Ariz., Adam Smith, D-Wash., Ed Case, D-Hawaii, Brad Schneider, D-Ill., Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., Earl Blumenauer, D-Ore., Pat Ryan, D-N.Y., and Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J.
Sen. Peter Welch, D-Vt., is the only Senate Democrat to call for Biden’s withdrawal from the race, saying “Biden should withdraw for the good of the country,” in a Washington Post op-ed Wednesday.
Reps. Angie Craig, D-Minn., Mike Quigley, D-Ill., Seth Moulton, D-Mass., and Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz., all called on Biden to stand down last week.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, was the first sitting Democratic lawmaker to push for Biden to step aside after the debate, explaining he “had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum,” but Biden instead “failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies.”
Which Celebrities Have Called For Biden To Drop Out?
Several A-list celebrities have stepped up to criticize the president for staying in the race, including Biden fundraiser George Clooney, who penned an op-ed in the New York Times imploring Biden to “save democracy” and step away from the race. Other Hollywood figures include actor Rob Reiner, author Stephen King and heiress Abigail Disney.
What Wealthy Donors Have Called For Biden’s Withdrawal?
Billionaire Mark Pincus—who has reportedly donated more than $1 million to support Biden and the Democrats since December—is the latest well-heeled Biden supporter to urge Biden to step aside, including billionaires Christy Walton, Michael Novogratz and Reed Hastings. Mark Cuban has said Democrats should assess whether another person can step in as the nominee.
Which Media Figures And Outlets Have Urged Biden To Drop Out?
MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough (whose show Biden follows closely) gently suggested the morning after the debate the president should bow out of the race—though Biden later appeared on the show for a defiant phone interview. Meanwhile, The New York Times’ Editorial Board pushed Biden to leave the race the day after the debate, followed by similar calls from the editorial boards of The Chicago Tribune, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The Boston Globe. A litany of left-of-center Times opinion writers have urged Biden to step aside in recent weeks, including Biden’s self-described friend Thomas Friedman, Nicholas Kristof, Ezra Klein and Paul Krugman (who called Biden “the best president of my adult life”). Other calls to drop out came from New Yorker editor David Remnick (who said remaining in the race “would be an act not only of self-delusion but of national endangerment”), Washington Post columnist David Ignatius and Atlantic staff writer Mark Leibovich.
Which Political Staffers Want Biden To Drop Out?
Former Obama advisor and CNN analyst David Axelrod called Biden’s insistence on staying in the race a “defiant delusion,” after more gently wondering if Biden should run for reelection late last year. A group of Obama aides who host the popular podcast Pod Save America—helmed by Jon Favreau and Jon Lovett, among others—have questioned whether Biden should stay in the race (reigniting tensions between the Biden and Obama camps). Longtime Democratic consultant James Carville says Biden “shouldn’t be” the nominee, he told Politico. And Chandler West, a Biden-era former White House deputy director of photography, wrote on Instagram “it’s time for Joe to go,” Axios reported, adding White House operatives have said privately for months that Biden is “not as strong as he was just a couple of years ago.”
Which Former Democratic Politicians Want Biden Out?
Julian Castro, the Obama-era secretary of housing and urban development and early 2020 Democratic primary candidate, argued Biden should “absolutely” take himself out of the race. Former Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, another former Biden 2020 opponent, said he believes Harris is the party’s “best path forward” in a Newsweek op-ed. And 2020 hopeful Andrew Yang wrote in his blog Biden is “running an unwinnable race” and “doing wrong by the country” for continuing his candidacy.
What We Don’t Know
What congressional Democratic leadership will do—though the party’s top leaders in Congress have remained publicly supportive of Biden.
Contra
Biden has rebuffed the calls to step aside in the race, telling congressional Democrats in a letter Monday “it’s time for [discussions about his debate performance] to end.”
Tangent
Other Democrats have questioned Biden without explicitly saying he should drop out. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said on MSNBC in the days following the debate “I think it’s a legitimate question to say this is an episode or this is a condition,” referring to Biden’s cognitive abilities. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., has expressed alarm without calling for Biden to withdraw. Bennet predicted Tuesday on CNN Donald Trump “is on track . . . to win this election, and maybe win it by a landslide,” adding that “the White House, in the time since that disastrous debate . . . has done nothing to really demonstrate they have a plan to win this election.” Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Wash., implied in a statement Biden could not defeat Trump, calling for his withdrawal and suggesting “unelected advisors” are “making important decisions” about the country, instead of the president. Reps. Mark Takano, D-Calif., and Joe Morelle, D-N.Y., have privately said Biden should withdraw from the race at a discussion of Democratic lawmakers Sunday, The New York Times and NBC News reported.
Key Background
Scrutiny and dropout calls against Biden materialized after the president’s rocky debate performance against Trump last month, as he spoke softly, gave disjointed answers and often stood with a blank stare on his face and his mouth agape, while Trump was speaking. The performance put Biden’s mental acuity under even greater scrutiny, which increased Thursday after the president made two separate, high-profile public appearances during which he misnamed Ukrainian President Volodymyr and Vice President Kamala Harris as “President Putin” and “Vice President Trump,” respectively.
Further Reading
Can Democrats Replace Biden? Here’s What Would Happen If Biden Leaves 2024 Race. (Forbes)
Biden Loses Train Of Thought And Corrects Himself Repeatedly In Debate With Trump (Forbes)
