Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., warned in an ABC News interview on Friday that President Biden has not allayed growing concerns about his fitness for office, saying the president looks “very weak” and is hurting Democrats by continuing to campaign.
“The polls are moving in the other direction and that’s particularly concerning and, frankly, I understand why. I don’t think the interview was very good. Beyond his appearance, there were some concerns about what he said and how he said it. So, I think we have to be honest. Things are not getting better. Quite frankly, they’re getting worse,” Quigley told CNN’s John Berman on Monday.
“In an election campaign, these things depend entirely on perception. He looks very weak, his voice is very quiet and he doesn’t seem powerful,” he continued.
Quigley urged Biden to consider how continuing the campaign could affect lower-level races.
“What I would emphasize to the president is, ‘This is not just about you. This is not about loyalty. Be realistic. We have to be honest with ourselves,” he said.
Radio station acknowledges White House asked her questions before Biden interview, “parts ways” with host
President Biden caught people’s attention in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos when he said he wasn’t sure if they watched his own performance in the debate. (Screenshot/ABC)
Quigley joined a growing list of Democrats calling for Biden to resign following his shaky performance in the June 27 debate. Several House Democratic leaders met privately on Sunday to discuss the current state of the presidential race and reportedly agreed that it is time for the president to step down.
Quigley told CNN he hopes more of his Democratic colleagues will come forward and voice similar concerns.
“It’s going to be a surprising, unfortunately, terrible week, but I think the numbers are going to go up,” he told Berman. “I don’t know how the president is going to respond to that.”
He called it a “painful” and “frightening situation” for Democrats.
He also criticized the Biden campaign’s handling of the polls that came out of the debate.
Former Biden press secretary Jen Psaki acknowledges ABC interview was “so-so”
Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois joined the growing list of Democrats calling on President Biden to resign. (Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“Frankly, I think it’s hurting the president that he seems to be in denial about how the polls are going,” Quigley said, pointing to a surprising moment in the president’s ABC interview that raised concerns among Democrats.
Despite growing calls for him to withdraw from the race, Biden remains adamant that he will remain in the race and take on his Republican rival, former President Trump, once again.
Biden called into MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday morning and reiterated his intention to continue campaigning, telling the hosts that he was “not going anywhere.”
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President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School, Friday, July 5, 2024, in Madison, Wisconsin. (AP Photo/Molly Gash)
Obtained notes Fox News DigitalThe letter, sent to congressional offices by the Biden-Harris campaign, touted the president’s efforts to rally supporters in several battleground states since the CNN debate.
The note also cited a new Bloomberg/Morning Consult poll released Saturday that showed Biden trailing Trump by just 2 points in seven battleground states, but leading Trump by 5 and 3 points in Michigan and Wisconsin, respectively.
