The first domino fell on Tuesday, when Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, called on President Joe Biden to withdraw from his campaign for reelection to the White House.
Doggett’s announcement came after Biden’s dismal debate performance, which was panned by the media and voters alike.
Few Democratic elected officials have defended Biden, but Doggett was the first to publicly say Biden should resign.
“For more than a year, many Americans have expressed dissatisfaction with the choice in this election,” Doggett said in a press release. “President Biden continues to trail well behind Democratic senators in key states and also behind President Donald Trump in most polls.”
“We had hoped the debate would be the catalyst for changing that,” he added. “But it didn’t happen. Far from reassuring voters, the president failed to effectively defend many of his accomplishments and expose many of Mr. Trump’s lies.”
INBOX: Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) has become the first sitting Democrat to publicly call on Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential race.
“Senator Doggett urges President Biden to withdraw”
Doggett has served in the House of Representatives since 1995. pic.twitter.com/EH9JStCsiq
— Michael Schnell (@mychaelschnell) July 2, 2024
Doggett praised Biden’s years of service in public office but continued to intensify his criticism of Biden’s ability to campaign effectively over the past year.
“Our first priority must be, who has the best hope of saving our democracy from a tyrannical takeover by a criminal and his allies,” he said. “The risks are too great to jeopardize a Trump victory. The risks are too great to think that we can now overturn what we couldn’t overturn in a year, what we couldn’t overturn in the debates.”
Check it out — “Panic!” CNN panel upset over Biden’s disastrous debate performance
CNN
Doggett continued to make a personal plea to Biden.
“I represent the heart of the district once represented by Lyndon Johnson,” he wrote. “Under very different circumstances, Mr. Johnson made the difficult decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same.”
“The Texas congressman referred to Biden’s “transition” promises,” he said.[Biden] We have an opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders who can select candidates to unite our country through an open, democratic process.”
Doggett concluded by saying that while this decision was not one he made lightly, “President Biden’s first commitment has always been to the country, not to himself.” [Biden] “He will have to make the tough and difficult decision to withdraw and I respectfully urge him to do so.”
Voters are clearly concerned about Biden’s ability to serve as president: As Breitbart News noted, “Tuesday’s CBS News/YouGov poll found that 72% of registered voters believe President Joe Biden lacks the necessary ‘mental’ and ‘cognitive health’ to serve as president, up 7 points after the debate.”
Notably, Doggett did not call on Biden to resign as president.
Jean-Pierre said Biden’s medical team doesn’t believe cognitive testing is necessary at this time.
“That’s not necessary. I’m not going to deny what you saw or what the American people saw. I understand it was a bad night. It’s not uncommon for incumbents to have a bad night…
— Michael Jones (@bymichaeljones) July 2, 2024
Bradley Jay is Capitol Hill correspondent for Breitbart News. Follow him on X/Twitter. translation:.
