A growing chorus of lawmakers and pundits are calling on Joe Biden to resign his presidency after he chose on Sunday to drop his reelection bid following a horrible debate performance last month during which he often appeared dazed, confused, and stumbling to answer questions.
Most of the calls are coming from Republicans, who say they are concerned that Biden’s obvious mental decline is a threat to national security. Some are also questioning how long those close to Biden, including his vice president, Kamala Harris, have known about his condition and why they never said anything about it publicly or tried to address it via the 25th Amendment.
In the hours before Biden made his announcement, Sen. J.D. Vance, the Ohio Republican that former President Donald Trump has chosen to be his running mate, took to social media to demand Biden resign the presidency if he were to leave the race.
“If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining President? Not running for reelection would be a clear admission that President Trump was right all along about Biden not being mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief. There is no middle ground,” he tweeted.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also immediately called on Biden to resign.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough,” Johnson said.
The House’s No. 3 Republican, Rep. Elise Stefanik of New York, also called on Biden to step down.
“The Democrat Party is in absolute free fall for their blatantly corrupt and desperate attempt to cover up the fact that Joe Biden is unfit for office,” Stefanik posted to X.
Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) noted as well: “Then RESIGN your office. If you can’t run a mere political campaign, you can’t be President.”
“Being President is the hardest job in the world, and I no longer have confidence that Joe Biden can effectively execute his duties as Commander-in-Chief,” Sen. Steve Daines (R-Mont.) wrote.
“Democrats can’t have it both ways. If Joe Biden can’t handle a debate or a rally, he can’t stand up to Putin or have access to the nuclear codes,” Savannah Viar, deputy communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee, noted in a late Sunday statement, according to the New York Post.
After announcing he would drop out, Biden then endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, to become the Democratic nominee to face off against former President Donald Trump. But that led a Democratic mega-donor to declare that he would not fundraise for the party if Harris becomes the nominee because she is far too liberal, The Post noted in a separate story.
“It’s one thing to vote for somebody; it’s another thing to raise millions of dollars for somebody; you have to really be in,” John Morgan told ABC News. The self-proclaimed “Biden/Manchin type Dem,” said that he doesn’t think Harris has a chance to win.
“If Trump World could pick anybody to run against, I think they pick her,” Morgan, a Florida lawyer, said.
On his X account, he speculated as to why Biden publicly endorsed her.
“Joe Biden’s endorsement of Kamala is his fuck you to all who pushed him out. Be careful what you wish for,” he wrote.
CNN’s John King reports that Democrats are concerned that Pennsylvania Democrat Governor Josh Shapiro’s Jewish faith is a risk if he is on Kamala Harris’ ticket.
The antisemitism in the Democrat Party is WILD. pic.twitter.com/JiOb1RI5pT
— Steve Guest (@SteveGuest) July 22, 2024
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