House Progressive Caucus Chairwoman Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said she is “listening carefully” to lawmakers’ concerns about President Biden amid growing calls for him to withdraw from the presidential race.
in Long statementJayapal acknowledged that some Democrats are debating “the best path forward” following his shaky performance in last month’s debate. A handful of Democrats have publicly called on the president to drop out of the race, but Biden has insisted he has no plans to withdraw.
“It’s true that Democrats are having many conversations among our members and constituents, considering the best way to protect Democrats,” Jayapal said in a statement.
“As CPC Chair, I am listening carefully to party members across the country, including in battleground states and safe districts, to defeat Donald Trump and win the House and the Senate,” she added.
A recent poll by Our Revolution found that 70% of progressive voters said Biden should stop campaigning after the June 27 debate.
While Jayapal acknowledged there were divisions within the party over Biden’s future path, he blamed members of the media and said Republicans should be asked why they were “still supporting a convicted felon who incited an insurrection and wants to be a dictator from day one in office.”
“The Republican Party should call on Donald Trump to withdraw from the presidential race,” she said. “The media should serve the American people by reporting the dozens of lies he told in the debates and the horrific comments he continues to make about immigrants and women.”
She reiterated that Biden and Vice President Harris “were elected by the voters and have done a great job throughout their administration,” and said they would continue to work to differentiate the Democrats from Trump.
“I will continue to focus on conveying the aggressive policies and contrasting the Democratic Party with Donald Trump, who has already taken away our freedoms on abortion and will continue to do so much more as he demonizes and scapegoats immigrants, destroys worker wages and labor protections while giving huge tax cuts and incentives to his cronies, the CEOs of major corporations,” she said.
Jayapal’s comments came as lawmakers returned to Washington after the Independence Day recess and Biden pushed back against calls for him to step down from the White House.
