Democrats and the left called for President Biden to withdraw from the presidential race on Thursday night following his stiff, stumbling and word-stuttering debate performance against his more energetic opponent, Republican front-runner Donald Trump. A CNN instant poll showed Trump winning the debate 67 to 33 percent.
“It’s time for an open convention and discussion of new Democratic candidates.”“ a second Democratic lawmaker told NBC News.
Related article: Key highlights from the 2024 CNN presidential debate
Biden has already secured the Democratic nomination, and the easiest, and perhaps only, way to replace him would be for him to step aside, especially with polls showing he cannot win.
Biden, 81, was already trailing in polls in several battleground states ahead of Thursday’s debate and needed a solid performance to convince voters he still had the muscle to run for presidency. Instead, they saw the exact opposite.
Former U.S. senator and Democrat Claire McCaskill all but argued that Biden should withdraw.
“[It’s] I just lament this evening. I think people feel like they’re facing a crisis.“ McCaskill said on MSNBC.
“There was one thing he had to accomplish: convince the American people that he was the right man for the job at his age, and tonight he failed to do that,” Biden said.“ McCaskill said.
McAskill praised Vice President Kamala Harris and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who defended Biden in post-debate interviews, but added that “these two are warning a lot of Americans who are paying attention, ‘Why aren’t they running? Why aren’t Democrats putting them at the top of their list of candidates and using them to shore up some pretty glaring weaknesses in the president that were laid out tonight?'”” “
McCaskill said her phone numbers have “exploded.”“ The debate will feature messages from “senators, campaigners and donors.”“ They are concerned about Biden’s performance.
View this rating Claire upon @MSNBCIt takes a total of 4 minutes. pic.twitter.com/WNFhOKEjG2
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) June 28, 2024
Nicholas Kristof, a New York Times columnist and progressive author, urged Biden to back down.
“We hope that Biden will reflect on his performance in this debate and announce his decision to withdraw from the race, leaving the choice of Democratic nominee to the convention.“ Kristof wrote that he believes Sen. Sherrod Brown, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo or Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer could beat President Trump.
We hope that Biden will reflect on his performance in this debate and announce his decision to withdraw from the race, leaving the selection of the Democratic nominee to the party convention. Gretchen Whitmer or Sherrod Brown or Raymond There is still a chance they can get in and beat Trump.
— Nicholas Kristof (@NickKristof) June 28, 2024
Van Jones, a former adviser to President Obama, said Biden “didn’t do a good job at all.”“ During the discussion.
“I like the guy. He’s a good guy. He loves his country.“ Jones said. “he “He’s trying his best, but tonight was a test to restore the confidence of his country and his base, and he failed to do that. And I think there are a lot of people who would like to see him consider choosing a different path now.”
Obama’s 2008 campaign manager, David Plouffe, called it “DEFCON 1.”“ A moment for the Democratic Party.
“Their level of concern is very high.“ Proulx said.
Biden and Trump are only three years apart in age, but “they seemed like they were 30 years apart.”“ Plouffe added.
Other New York Times columnists on Friday urged Biden to drop out of the race.
“I was watching the Biden-Trump debate alone in my hotel room in Lisbon and I was in tears.“ Columnist Tom Friedman, a friend of Biden’s, wrote: “I cannot recall a more heartbreaking moment in American electoral politics in my lifetime, precisely because it revealed that Joe Biden, while a good man and a good president, is unfit to run for reelection.”
my @AP My colleagues filmed Americans across the country watching the debate last night, and it was shocking. pic.twitter.com/UcmEvXnNjq
— Farnoush Amiri (@FarnoushAmiri) June 28, 2024
Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Andrew Harnik/Staff
Michael Faust He has covered the intersection of faith and news for 20 years, and his work has appeared in Baptist Press, Christianity Today, Christian Post, Leaf Chronicle, Toronto Star and Knoxville News Sentinel.
