“Morning Joe” co-host Joe Scarborough urged Democrats to “take a deep breath” and “respect President Biden” by not calling for him to drop out of the race just yet, a week after saying this was Democrats’ “last chance” to determine whether Biden is fit to be president.
“Let’s act smart, let’s take a deep breath and understand that it’s still July 5th. Such historic decisions should not be taken in haste,” he said on his show on Friday, returning to television a week after a planned break.
“There’s definitely panic all over the place. I said eight days ago that the president needs to consider stepping back, that he needs to give it time and see what happens, and I think we’re still in that situation,” Scarborough said of the backlash the Biden campaign is facing following its disastrous performance in last Thursday’s debate.
“So it’s July 5th. That was eight days ago. And the time for a decision hasn’t come yet. And it may be coming soon, but before we say we’ve made a decision, I think we should first show respect to the person who first appeared on the ballot 54 years ago by giving him the time and space to make a decision,” he continued.
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MSNBC host Joe Scarborough defended Biden, saying Democrats needed to take a deep breath and not rush into a decision to remove Biden as their nominee. (MSNBC/Screenshot)
The MSNBC co-host has been one of Biden’s most staunch supporters on the liberal network throughout his presidency, but last week he seemed more concerned about Biden’s chances of reelection and even questioned whether Biden should immediately drop out of the race.
“I think we have to ask him the same question that we’ve been asking Donald Trump since 2016, which is, if he was a CEO and he performed like that, would any company in America, any Fortune 500 company in America, keep him as CEO?” he asked.
While Scarborough called Biden’s presidency a “complete success,” he questioned whether it’s time for Democrats to replace Biden as their nominee.
“This is a battle for the future of American democracy, and the time is now – thank goodness it’s June, not October – and June is the last chance for Democrats to determine whether this man that we’ve known and loved for so many years is qualified to run for president of the United States,” Scarborough warned on his show on June 28.
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The New Yorker article called on Democratic lawmakers to invoke the 25th Amendment to the Constitution to remove President Biden from office. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
In the weeks leading up to the June debate, MSNBC hosts mocked reports of growing concerns about the president’s mental fitness.
“Republicans never learn. They always underestimate Joe Biden. They always say he’s old and can’t talk,” Scarborough said in a scathing attack on Republicans on his show on May 16.
Scarborough said Biden proved his critics wrong with his State of the Union address and made them “look like children.”
“He’s very persuasive. In fact, I think he’s more persuasive intellectually and analytically than he’s ever been,” he said in March.
But on his show Friday, Scarborough acknowledged the work Biden needs to do to convince his party and supporters that he is capable, but warned Democrats not to panic about their debate performance being the end of their campaign.
“He needs to answer the question about whether he has the ability to move forward. He knows he needs to answer that question. He needs to answer it in interviews. He needs to answer it in press conferences. He needs to answer it at the NATO summit. He needs to answer it in everything he does,” the show’s co-host said.
Joe Scarborough called on Democrats to “do the right thing” to assure the American people that Biden is the right candidate to beat Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon / Curtis Means/DailyMail.com via The Associated Press, Pool)
“So Democrats, please make the right decision on this. Think it through. Take your time. Take a deep breath and make the right decision on this, and America will follow you. Most Americans do not want any other candidate to be elected president of the United States. So don’t put them in a position where they feel they have to vote for a tyrant by default, but take the time you need to make the right decision on this, because American democracy depends on it and the whole world is watching what you do,” he said.
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Since his widely panned performance at the June 27 presidential debate, Democratic donors, allies and liberal media allies have panicked and called for the president to drop out of the race.
Biden said he “failed” in an interview this week, but added that voters should trust his record during his 3 1/2 years in office rather than his performance in a 90-minute debate. He is also scheduled to appear in an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Friday.
Stephanopoulos, a former Clinton spokesman, has been in the spotlight in recent weeks for monologues warning against Trump’s reelection.
