New York Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado on Wednesday joined a growing list of Democratic elected officials calling for President Biden to end his 2024 reelection campaign following his extremely tough performance in a debate with former President Trump two weeks ago.
“I am honored to be working with Delgado on this behalf,” he said in a social media post. [Biden’s] A deep and abiding commitment to the American people and the democratic ideals on which our nation was founded.”
“By ending his campaign and making room for new leadership, he can demonstrate his strength and grace and further his legacy,” Delgado said.
“There is no greater threat to our democracy than former President Donald Trump. He must be defeated,” Delgado warned.
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“That is why I join millions of Americans, including ordinary New Yorkers from all walks of life, who are voicing legitimate concerns about whether President Biden can successfully run his campaign against President Trump,” the lieutenant governor wrote. “To maintain our collective faith in our democracy and trust in our democratic institutions, we in elected office must be honest with the American people. To blindly ignore these voices is both misguided and dangerous.”
After a tough performance in his first head-to-head debate with Trump, Biden has been trying to prove he still has the stamina and agility to handle the toughest, most demanding job in the world — and the mental fortitude to beat Trump.
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Discussion It was a major setback for Biden, who at 81 is the oldest president in U.S. history. His halting speech and halting answers in the Atlanta contest caused widespread panic within the Democratic Party and prompted public and private calls from within the party for him to step down as the 2024 presidential candidate.
Former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden participate in the first presidential debate for the 2024 election, Thursday, June 27, 2024, in Atlanta, Georgia. (Javin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)
Since the debate, eight House Democrats have publicly called on Biden to not seek reelection, and a growing number of Democrats in both the House and Senate have warned publicly and privately that the president will lose to Trump in November.
Biden tells Democrats calling for him to withdraw ‘will only help Trump and hurt us’
In a letter to Democratic lawmakers sent on Monday after returning from the July 4th holiday, Biden reiterated his commitment to “keep this campaign going” and insisted, “The question of how to proceed has been debated for over a week now and it is time to end it. We have one job: to defeat Donald Trump.”
“Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the agenda ahead will only help Trump and hurt us,” the president added. “Now is the time to come together, to move forward as a party and to defeat Donald Trump.”
President Joe Biden speaks at his campaign office in Philadelphia, Sunday, July 7, 2024. (Photo by Associated Press/Manuel Balce Senator) (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Senator)
Delgado has called on Biden to step aside as the Democratic Party’s nominee for 2024, putting him at odds with his boss, Gov. Kathy Hauckle.
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Governor Hawkle was part of a large group of Democratic governors who met with the President at the White House last week.
She later took to social media to stress that the president was “in it to win. The stakes in November couldn’t be higher.”
Ahead of Delgado’s announcement on Wednesday, Haukle reiterated his support for Biden in a phone interview with Spectrum News 1 in New York.
Delgado, a former two-term congressman, was appointed lieutenant governor in 2022. His successor, Rep. Pat Ryan, a Democrat who represents New York’s 19th congressional district, also called on Biden to resign on the same day.
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