DEXTER, Mich. — A leading Michigan Democrat tweeted about 35-year-old soccer player Alex Morgan being removed from the U.S. women’s Olympic team and appeared to suggest President Biden should resign.
A post from state Attorney General Dana Nessel seemed to suggest the president should “gracefully” embrace his age and “pass the baton” for the country.
“I admire Alex Morgan. One of the greatest skaters of all time,” Nessel wrote in response to Morgan announcing she would not compete in Paris, “but she is much older than she was in her prime and has graciously accepted that it is time to pass the baton to win the gold medal.”
Morgan, a star striker for San Diego Wave FC, was left out of the Olympic squad just four years after becoming co-captain of the national team.
One clue that Nessel wasn’t just talking about the game is that Morgan posted a tweet in response two weeks ago, on June 26th.
Nessel’s unusual decision to comment just weeks after the election was likely a tacit call for Biden to resign following his disastrous debate performance with former President Donald Trump.
As if she hadn’t gotten her point across, Nessel wrote in a follow-up post, “No one will forget all her incredible accomplishments, but Alex just wants what’s best for her team and for America. That’s what makes her a true champion.”
Nessel’s post is odd for other reasons too.
Nessel made the somewhat rude comment that Morgan had “aged a lot.” She then went on to say that Morgan “has aged a lot.”[ing] Although the striker did not actually want to be dropped from the squad, he was told to “pass the baton.”
The attorney general’s manipulation of Morgan’s announcement calling for the president to step down is a major development in the key battleground state of Michigan, where Democrats have not been united in vocally supporting Biden.
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer recently reiterated her support for Biden and denied rumors that she would replace him as the Democratic nominee, but other leading Democrats in the state have remained silent on the issue.
Democratic congressional candidate Curtis Hertel Jr., for example, has not commented publicly on the issue since Biden’s debate performance.
Fellow House candidate Kristen McDonald Rivet also declined to comment on the debate, telling The Detroit News, “I’m not a TV commentator.” Both candidates are running in hotly contested districts.
Nessel’s less explicit criticism of Biden, and the silence of other Michigan Democrats, suggest politicians in the Great Lakes state fear that lower-ranking districts will be negatively affected if Biden continues to campaign for reelection.
