Republican lawmakers are increasingly calling for Biden’s immediate resignation, saying he doesn’t think his sudden decision to suspend his presidential campaign has gone far enough — a move experts say is unlikely and part of a political strategy to hold Harris accountable for contributing to Biden’s alleged declining mental capacity.
“They have reasons to want Trump to take over or to want Trump out of office, not just because he’s ‘not feeling too well,'” presidential historian and former Health and Human Services Secretary Tevi Troy said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“For one thing, if she becomes president, she’s going to have less time to devote to campaigning,” said Troy, who is also a senior fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center. “Second, she’s going to have to go out and answer questions, which she’s not very good at. Third, we’re seeing more and more questions like, ‘Did you know Biden’s ratings dropped significantly when you were vice president?’ That could be scandalous.”
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President Biden and Vice President Harris (Tierney L. Cross)
Meanwhile, Republicans who have called for Biden to step down for months are redoubled their demands. Republican Sen. Rick Scott of Florida told Fox News Digital on Monday that he didn’t know how “politically” it would play out if Harris became president, but “we need a president who can make rational decisions.”
“He obviously can’t do that and he’s acknowledged that by not running. He can’t do that so I don’t know why he wouldn’t run. [remain as president]” Scott said.
Scott joined several Republican lawmakers who have called for Biden to resign immediately since Sunday. Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, who has led the GOP in calling for Biden to resign, said in a statement: “If Joe Biden is unfit to run for president, he is unfit to serve. He must resign immediately. Let’s hope November 5th comes soon.”
House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik of New York similarly said, “If Joe Biden cannot run for reelection, he is also fit and unfit to serve as President of the United States and must resign immediately. The Democratic Party has been utterly corrupted by their blatantly corrupt and desperate attempt to cover up the fact that Joe Biden is unfit for office.”
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Former President Trump and Vice President Harris (Getty Images)
House Republican strategists say that as calls for Biden to step down grow, the entire campaign offensive will be focused on Harris as she nears winning the nomination at the Democratic National Convention in August and a flurry of Democratic endorsements.
“No one is seriously challenging it,” the strategist said. [Sen.] Joe Manchin says he’s not interested. So we quickly turn around and go after Kamala and say she’s not only responsible for all the terrible policies coming out of the Biden administration, [the] “We need to look beyond border closures, rising crime and the high cost of living to the policy record that came before Biden’s administration.”
Asked about the possibility of Harris becoming president if Biden were to step down, the strategist said “it’s outside the realm of possibility.”
“I don’t think Democrats are ever going to actually unseat Joe Biden,” the strategist said.
Biden has not been seen in public since announcing on Sunday that he was dropping his presidential bid. Started self-isolation I was infected with COVID-19 last week.
Meanwhile, Harris, who won Biden’s endorsement on Sunday, has raised about $50 million in grassroots donations since then. President Biden He has called off his reelection bid and made the remarks at an NCAA event on Monday.
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President Biden (Hannah Beyer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The unprecedented announcement came as a growing number of Democrats have begun publicly calling for Biden to step down, and the party’s leadership is reportedly working to convince 2024 Republican nominee Donald Trump, whom Biden defeated to win the White House four years ago, in November’s general election.
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Biden quickly voiced his “full support and endorsement” of Harris becoming the party’s presidential nominee.
“Serving as your president has been the greatest honor of my life,” Biden said in the open letter. “While I intended to seek reelection, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and my country to step aside from office for the remainder of my term and focus on fulfilling the duties of my presidency.”
Biden began facing questions about his own mental acuity after bombshell reports revealed many members of Congress had expressed concerns about the president behind closed doors, then after a disastrous debate performance with Trump last month led to a barrage of media questions and poor poll numbers.
Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman and Elizabeth Elkind contributed to this report.
