Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett on Tuesday became the first sitting Democratic member of Congress to call on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.
Biden’s unconvincing performance during a debate with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump shook Democrats’ support to the core, and party members at all levels considered the possibility that he could no longer be a candidate.
A House Democrat has become the first in the party to publicly call on President Joe Biden to step down as the party’s presidential nominee, citing Biden’s performance in the debate against Donald Trump as failing to “effectively defend his many accomplishments.”
Representative Lloyd Doggett of Texas said in a press release that Biden “should make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.”
“My decision to publish this strong reservation was not made lightly, nor does it in any way diminish my respect for everything that President Biden has achieved,” Doggett stressed.
“Realizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first obligation has always been our country, and not himself, I hope he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully invite him to do so,” he stated.
Doggett, who represents the Austin-based district and is serving his 15th term in Congress, is the first incumbent in his party to say publicly what many have been whispering privately behind closed doors since last week’s debate. Biden’s lackluster performance sparked immediate panic, even among his most ardent supporters, leading many to question whether the 81-year-old career politician is the strongest Democratic candidate to take on Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, in November.
Biden himself admitted that the debate did not go well for him, but insisted that he is ready to fight for a second term as president. Biden and his campaign staff did not directly respond to Democrats’ criticism of his performance.
Democratic control of both houses of Congress will also hang in the balance in November, and Democrats are defending far more Senate seats than Republicans. Democrats hold the Senate with a slim majority of 51 to 49, while Republicans control the House by just a handful of seats, AP reports.
