Rep. John Garamendi (D-Calif.) has a message for his fellow Democrats about the panic surrounding Biden’s candidacy: “Stay calm and take a deep breath.”
Garamendi Participated Fox News will be broadcasting on Saturday in the debate’s aftermath, with Biden set to take on former President Trump and discuss his ability to serve another four years in office.
“Let’s wait a moment. Let’s not panic. Let’s understand the great importance and the important work Biden has done and what can be done going forward,” he said in a message to House Democrats.
“I ask you to slow down this binge that the media and many of my colleagues are engaging in,” Garamendi continued, “slow down, take a deep breath, and look at what this president has done and what he has accomplished since that debate.”
Garamendi’s comments come as a growing number of House Democrats are calling for Biden to step aside and give someone else the opportunity to run.
Reps. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), Seth Moulton (D-Mass.), Raul Grijalva (D-Arizona), Angie Craig (D-Minnesota) and Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) have all publicly called on Biden to resign.
Doggett, who first made the call, said he had hoped the debate would help the presidential campaign but that it had a disappointing effect.
Grijalva said he still supports Biden but thinks it’s time for the party to choose someone new. Quigley called on Biden to help the country avoid “total disaster” by getting someone else to run.
Moulton said Thursday that Biden should follow in the footsteps of former President George Washington and step aside to allow new leaders to challenge Trump. Craig said he doesn’t believe Biden can beat Trump, saying “the stakes are too high.”
Since the debate, Biden and his campaign have been in clean-up mode. They tried to appeal to disgruntled voters with energetic rallies and on-camera interviews on Friday, but neither has been able to quell calls for them to resign.
In a recent interview, Biden acknowledged that the debate was his worst night. “Every one of us has bad days and bad nights,” Garamendi said.
“He’s doing the job of being president, which is a 24/7 job, and he’s also campaigning,” the California senator said. “Neither of those things are easy, but he’s done it, and since the debate, he’s been a strong force on stage.”
