Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said Wednesday he doesn’t believe President Biden will serve a full second term, just days after publicly calling on him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
“Like I said, I think he’s up to the task at this point,” Smith told NewsNation’s “The Hill.” “Given his health, I can honestly say, do I think he can serve out the full four years? No. I really don’t think so.”
“I don’t know. I’m not a doctor, so I don’t measure it. But there are processes in place to deal with it,” he added.
Smith’s comments come as some Democrats are growing increasingly concerned about whether Biden can defeat former President Trump in November and run for a second term following Biden’s dismal performance in a debate two weeks ago.
Smith on Monday became the longest-serving Democrat to publicly call on Biden to drop out of the race, saying “it’s clear that he’s not the best person to carry the Democratic message.”
Seven other Democrats have made similar explicit calls, including Reps. Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Raul Grijalva (Arizona), Seth Moulton (Massachusetts), Mike Quigley (Illinois), Angie Craig (Minn.), Mickey Sherrill (New Jersey) and Pat Ryan (New York).
At least four top House Democrats also said in a private conference call Sunday that Biden should resign, including Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), who publicly supported Biden on Tuesday.
Democrats held a private meeting on Tuesday to discuss Biden’s political future, but many party members remained committed to supporting him.
Democrats, coming out of the session that lasted about two hours, suggested the debate had been unilateral in favor of keeping Biden on the shortlist, an endorsement that suggests Biden may have blocked individual critics from crafting a narrative, at least for now.
Biden has rejected calls to drop out of the race and insisted he will continue to campaign, and in a letter on Monday he called on Democratic lawmakers to support his candidacy.
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