Four Leading House Dems Reportedly Pushed For Biden to Quit in Call With Hakeem Jeffries
AP Photo/Gerald Herbert
Four leading House Democratic lawmakers are reportedly pushing for President Joe Biden to quit the race, including during a call with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY), amid the continuing fallout from the president’s debate performance and lackluster interview with NBC News.
In a virtual meeting with Jeffries over the weekend, Reps. Jerry Nadler, Mark Takano (D-CA), Joe Morelle (D-NY), and Adam Smith (D-WA) pushed the idea of Biden exiting the presidential race, according to Punchbowl News co-founder John Bresnahan.
The four lawmakers are ranking members on House committees, representing the highest-ranking Democratic lawmakers to call for Biden to step down following the debate. During the CNN debate against former President Donald Trump, Biden struggled to deliver coherent answers at times and had a raspy voice.
CBS News reporter Ed O’Keefe also reported on Sunday that during the meeting Reps. Jim Himes (D-CT), Don Beyer (D-VA), and Jamie Raskin (D-MD) expressed skepticism regarding Biden’s electoral chances.
Many of the lawmakers calling for the president to bow out suggested Vice President Kamala Harris take his place as the Democratic nominee this November against Trump.
NEWS from @heatherscope @JakeSherman & me: Reps. Jerry Nadler, Mark Takano, Don Beyer and Adam Smith said Biden should step aside as Democratic nominee during a private leadership call this afternoon. Most said Kamala Harris should be the nominee
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) July 7, 2024
Add @RepJoeMorelle to this list. Says Biden can’t win https://t.co/tIkXfYWXX8
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) July 7, 2024
NEWS: Reps. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.), Mark Takano (Calif.), Adam Smith (Wash.) and Joe Morelle (N.Y.) said Sunday that Biden should leave the presidential race during a zoom meetin between House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries (N.Y.) and ranking Democrats on committees, according to…
— Ed O’Keefe (@edokeefe) July 7, 2024
White House officials have blamed Biden’s poor debate performance on jet lag and a lack of sleep. Meanwhile, the president has vowed publicly that he will not back out of the race, claiming the only the “Lord Almighty” can make him leave.
Bresnahan also reported that Beyer referred to Biden as “clearly very very fragile.” However, following the reports of his alleged comments, Beyer’s office issued a statement from the lawmaker, where he reaffirmed his support for the president.
New: There was some confusion over whether @RepDonBeyer called for Biden to step aside as Democratic nominee during a leadership call.
Here are Beyer’s quotes, per me @heatherscope & @JakeSherman sources:
“He’s clearly very very fragile. Fragile physically although his…
— John Bresnahan (@bresreports) July 7, 2024
Beyer: I support President Biden. I support the Biden-Harris ticket, and look forward to helping defeat Donald Trump in November. I was proud to host an event this week in Northern Virginia with the President, and will continue doing all I can to support the Biden-Harris campaign…
— Chad Pergram (@ChadPergram) July 7, 2024
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