Jon Favreau, a former speechwriter for former President Barack Obama, argued Monday that “voters have been expressing concerns about President Biden for months” as the 81-year-old president resists calls to end his reelection bid.
In a post on X, Favreau denied claims that calls for Biden to drop out were coming only from “elite” sources. He cited a pre-debate poll conducted by The New York Times and Siena College that showed 64% of all voters want Biden to replace the Democratic nominee, including 48% of those who planned to vote for Biden, and that 69% of voters believe Biden is too old to be a viable president.
“This is not an elite problem. It is not a media problem. It is not a panic because one debate went wrong,” Favreau wrote. “Voters have been expressing these concerns for months. Denying or ignoring them is not the way to overcome them.”
Favreau, one of the hosts of Pod Save America, also noted that 55% of black voters and 66% of Hispanic voters want Biden replaced as the candidate.
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President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington upon returning from a trip to Pennsylvania on Sunday, July 7. (AP/Susan Walsh)
The post came after Biden made a surprise appearance on MSNBC on Monday morning, where he called on his Democratic colleagues to challenge him in the nomination fight and dismissed widespread calls for him to withdraw from the presidential race.
“I’m frustrated with the elites. Not you guys, but the elites in my party. Well, they know a lot more. And those who don’t think I should run, I want you to run against me. I want you to announce your candidacy for president and challenge me at the convention,” Biden said.
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President Joe Biden stands at the podium during the presidential debate with former President Donald Trump at CNN studios in Atlanta, Georgia, Thursday, June 27, 2024. (Kevin D. Lyles for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
And in a letter to Democratic lawmakers today, Biden urged the party to stop questioning whether he should stop seeking reelection and to “move forward as a united party” to defeat former President Trump in his 2024 reelection bid.
Biden has been scrambling to respond to growing calls for him to drop out of the presidential race following his underwhelming debate performance. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images, left)
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In the letter, Biden reiterated that he was “committed to continuing this campaign” and argued that further doubts about his candidacy “will only help Mr. Trump and hurt us.”
Fox News’ Paul Steinhauser and Patrick Ward contributed to this report.
