Democratic bigwigs are starting to call for Joe Biden to step aside
A sitting congressman has broken ranks
![Demonstrators hold signs outside of a fundraiser for US President Joe Biden](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.economist.com/cdn-cgi/image/width=1424,quality=80,format=auto/content-assets/images/20240706_FBP002.jpg)
Some fires are hard to snuff out. The one that started after President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate performance on June 27th, through which he stammered only semi-lucidly, is developing into a blaze. For a few days it was only the media—albeit including the columnists and commentators closest to the president—who were calling for him to abandon his bid for re-election. But on July 2nd the president’s support within the Democratic Party started to crack. Lloyd Doggett, a representative from Texas, became the first sitting Democratic congressman to call for him to stand aside. The following day another, Raúl Grijalva, joined him. Reed Hastings, a big donor, also said Mr Biden should make way for another candidate. Betting markets, which had put the odds of the president leaving the race at 20% on the morning of the debate, raised them above 60% on July 3rd.
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This article appeared in the Briefing section of the print edition under the headline “Demotivational speaking”
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