This is Connor. The group behind the effort to oust Biden, “Pass the Torch, Joe,” Website “We are a network of Democratic activists, organizers, and voters who have come together with the belief that nothing is more important than putting up a candidate for the Democratic Party who can beat Donald Trump,” the group said. It will be interesting to see how the Democratic Party plans to maintain this approach for future elections.
By Jake Johnson, Senior Editor and Staff Writer A common dream.
US President Joe Biden on Friday delivered a defiant response to calls from some in the Democratic Party for him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, describing his disastrous debate performance with Donald Trump as a “bad episode” that did not validate long-standing concerns about his age and health. Cognitive Health.
in Rally In Wisconsin and at a subsequent roundtable discussion interview During the debate with ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos, Biden acknowledged his poor performance in the debate but stressed that he would continue to campaign, a message Democratic activists and organizers have been quick to point out. motion They urged the president to resign to ensure Trump’s defeat in November.
“I don’t think there’s anybody more qualified to be president or more qualified to win this election than me,” Biden declared on Friday, citing recent comments. Voting Data His performance against Trump was worse than that of his Democratic opponents. Vice President Kamala Harris.
If I stay in the race and Trump, who aspires to be a dictator, plot Devastating Attack Fundamental freedoms and planetBiden suggested that if he wins another four years in the White House, he could live peacefully “as long as we give it our all.”
“That’s all there is to it,” the president said.
Hours before the ABC News interview, a network of Democratic organizers, activists and voters had joined forces to launch a “Pass the Torch” campaign. motion as a coordinated attempt to pressure Biden to “deliver on his promises” 2020 Pledge He will be the “transitional” president.
“President Joe Biden has accomplished great things. His Administration has led us out of the pandemic, restored our economy, taken on corporate greed, taken on urgent climate action, and so much more. Domestically, he is arguably the best progressive Democratic president in generations,” the campaign said. Website state.
“All of this, and much more, would be lost if Donald Trump were to return to the presidency,” the website continues. “Democrats need the strongest possible candidate to maximize their chances of winning the November election. Based on both long-term polling and recent debates, it has become abundantly clear that the Democratic Party’s current nominee is not the strongest candidate we can offer.”
This campaign includes: Plea He called on Democratic lawmakers to Representative He attended the Democratic National Convention (DNC) and joined calls for the president to step down.
Today, Democrats across the country launched a grassroots campaign calling on Biden. #PassingTheTorchPlease step aside and support the candidate who has the best chance of beating Trump. Follow the campaign here Follow And sign our petition https://t.co/2dftntqMR3
— Aaron Regunberg (@AaronRegunberg) July 5, 2024
So far, five incumbent Democrats — Rep. Lloyd Doggett (Democrat, Texas) Raul Grijalva (Democrat, Arizona) Seth Moulton (Democrat, Massachusetts) Mike Quigley (Democrat, Illinois), and Angie Craig (Democrat, Minnesota) Lawmakers have been urging Biden to withdraw from the race, and more are expected to do so in the coming days as the party’s August convention approaches.
The Washington Postreport On Friday, Reuters reported that Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) was “trying to put together a group of Democratic senators to urge President Biden to withdraw from the presidential race.”report “Twenty-five House Democrats are preparing to call for Biden to resign if he becomes unstable in the coming days.”
Meanwhile, major Democratic donors are conducting “numerous efforts to pressure” Biden to drop out of the race. according toThe New York Times.
“Their group is trying to raise as much as $100 million for a kind of escrow fund called Next Generation PAC, which will be used to support alternative candidates,” the Times reported. “If Biden doesn’t step down, the money could be used to support a lesser candidate, according to a person close to the effort.”
But Biden remains Democratic Senator SupportAfter the debate, both Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) endorsed the president.
Senator Bernie Sanders Sen. John Biden, a Vermont Democrat and independent who represents the Senate’s progressive wing, also refused to join calls for Biden to end his reelection bid.
“He’s not a good debater, he’s not necessarily a good speaker,” Sanders said. Said Semaphore: “People will have to say, ‘Yes, he’s old and he’s not very articulate, but you’re going to vote for someone whose policies will affect your life.'”
“Biden is the nominee,” the senator added. “I think he’s going to be the nominee, and I’m going to do everything in my power to get him elected.”
Progressives in the House of Representatives have also so far not supported efforts to have Biden step aside and pave the way for another nominee.
“We haven’t heard anything from the Squad or from other lawmakers who are known for being progressive activists,” Slate’s Alexander Sammon wrote. I got it. Saturday. “The reason is that the question of whether Biden should run again is an internal conflict within the party’s moderate wing. Joe Biden, throughout his long, decades-long career, has always been somewhere in the middle, if not a little to the right, of the Democratic continuum.”
“Many moderates who previously supported Biden are now worried about whether he can win the election,” Sammon wrote. “There is no real merit to Squad members taking the brunt of attacks in the midst of an already bitter national debate.”
Timesreport It was reported late Friday that Biden’s interview with Stephanopoulos appeared to have done little to change the minds of people on either side of the issue.
“A small number of current Former Democratic Party official “Supporters who had called on Biden to quit his reelection campaign said the interview did little or nothing to address their concerns,” the Times noted. “Reliable supporters of the president’s reelection campaign likewise rushed to TV stations to reaffirm their support for Biden.”
“Other Democrats who expressed concerns about the president’s performance but stopped short of calling for Biden to withdraw said the interview had not significantly changed their views of Biden’s candidacy,” the paper continued.
Doggett is First Democratic Senator To encourage Biden to step down Said“The need for his resignation is more urgent tonight than when I first called for it on Tuesday,” Biden said in an interview Friday, CNN reported.
The Texas Democrat warned that “every day we delay” the withdrawal makes it harder to bring in new people who can defeat Donald Trump.
Doggett added that Biden “does not want to go down in history as the man who handed our country over to a tyrant.”
