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Despite calling President Biden an honorable American whose lifetime of distinguished service marks his love of country, state Sen. Jason Lewis is calling for the president to step aside.
President Joseph Biden has faced much scrutiny regarding his performance in the first presidential debate of the campaign season, held June 27, much of it harsh and unyielding.
“Rather than reassuring Americans of President Biden’s ability to campaign vigorously and lead the Democratic Party to victory over Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans, the words and actions of the Biden campaign over the past week have led to further erosion of confidence and support among voters,” Lewis said in a July 3 statement on social media.
Lewis was unavailable for comment, but shared his thoughts on Biden’s performance on social media, stating he believed Biden’s campaign was in serious trouble.
The Boston Globe reported Wednesday that Lewis, worried about Biden’s struggling re-election campaign, even before what it called a disastrous performance during the debate, publicly called for Biden to step aside as the party’s nominee.
“After President Biden’s dismal debate performance (and even if he had performed well), he should be doing multiple, energetic campaign events across the battleground states along with media appearances,” Lewis stated. “The fact that he is not is itself self evidence that his candidacy is deeply hobbled.”
Yet according to the New York Times, Biden told a group of Democratic governors that he isn’t going anywhere — he’s staying in the race. And the Democratic governors who had joined Biden at the White House, had vowed to support him.
Lewis is not the only Democrat to call for Biden to give up his run. Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas was reportedly the first congressional Democrat to openly call for Biden to get out of the Presidential race, followed by U.S. Congressman Adam Frisch of Colorado. Even former Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi was said to have called questions regarding Biden’s debate performance legitimate.
As for who should replace Biden, should he drop out of the race, Lewis offered no suggestions. However, according to ABC News, polling post debate showed that Vice President Kamala Harris appears to be the likely contender.
She has reportedly said, “Look, Joe Biden is our nominee. We beat Trump once, and we're going to be him again.”
CNN reported an ABC News interview with Biden will now air as a “prime time special” on July 5 at 8 p.m. where he will be speak with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on the campaign trail.
