At least three other Democrats in the House of Representatives called on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race on Thursday, following his first solo news conference in months after the NATO summit.
While Biden’s team was optimistic about his performance, it remained unclear whether he did enough to repair the damage. Members of his party fear he is no longer capable of defeating Donald Trump and being effective for another four years.
Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., praised Biden as “a remarkable leader of unparalleled public service” but said it is time to go.
“The 2024 election will determine the future of American democracy, and we must put forward the strongest candidate to confront the threat of Trump’s promised MAGA authoritarianism,” Himes said in a statement. “I no longer believe this is Joe Biden, and I hope he will continue to put our nation first, as he has throughout his lifetime of public service, and pave the way for a new generation of leaders, as he promised.”
Asked about that promise during Thursday’s press conference, Biden said he had to “finish the job” he had been given, arguing that he had not realized “the gravity of the situation that I inherited in terms of the economy, our foreign policy and domestic divisions” before he took office.
Rep. Scott Peters, D-Calif., said in his own statement after the press conference that Biden’s debate performance last month was “not an isolated incident” and that polls in the swing state have “deteriorated alarmingly” since then.
“Today, I ask President Biden to withdraw from the presidential campaign. The stakes are high and we are on a losing streak. My conscience demands that I raise my voice and put loyalty to the country and democracy above my deep affection and loyalty to the President and those around him,” Peters said in a statement. “We must find a candidate from our deep bench of talent who can defeat Donald Trump.”
Rep. Eric Sorensen, D-Ill., who is running for re-election in a competitive district in November, said he “hopes President Biden will step aside in his campaign for president” and be replaced by “a candidate for president who will communicate a positive vision for everyone in this country.”
“In 2020, Joe Biden ran for president with the goal of putting country over party. Today, I ask him to do that again,” Sorensen said in a statement.
But despite the new opposition, Biden’s team felt good about his press conference, confident it could stem the defections and reassure skeptics among Democrats.
A source close to Biden said the press conference was intended to reassure open-minded skeptics who had legitimate questions after the debate about Biden’s ability to take on Trump. It was also intended to offer a vision for a second term and outline differences with Trump on Project 2025, abortion rights, gun safety legislation and a fairer economic system.
Biden’s world believes he has hit the ground running, the source said.
But a Democratic official, who was not authorized to speak publicly about the political dynamics of Biden’s news conference, said he “did nothing to convince Democrats that he understands the direness of his political situation or that he has a realistic plan to win.”
“He seemed most comfortable talking about foreign policy, like NATO, issues that swing voters in battleground states don’t care about at all,” the Democratic official said. “He also had no message for the future. The case he presented for reelection was all about the accomplishments of two years ago.”
As the presidential conventions approach, a Democratic leader said time is running out to continue the fight within the party.
“The week after, when [lawmakers] “His return is the final make-or-break moment,” the source said. “If Biden stays at that point, we need to rally around him.”