Vermont Senator Peter Welch has become the first Democratic senator to call on incumbent US President Joe Biden to withdraw from the race.
His opinion was published by The Washington Post.
Welch said the "stakes are extremely high" and itʼs impossible to pretend no one noticed how "disastrous" Bidenʼs performance was at the debate and avoid valid questions that arose afterward, while respecting the president.
"I understand why President Biden wants to run. He saved us from Donald Trump once and wants to do it again. However, he needs to reassess whether he is the best candidate for this. In my opinion, no. For the good of the country, I urge President Biden to withdraw from the race," Welch said.
He called Vice President Kamala Harris a "capable, reliable leader," noting that the party has other "young, energetic governors and senators in swing states."
Vermont traditionally votes Democratic, and the senator made a separate point.
“Vermont loves Joe Biden. President Biden and Vice President Harris received a higher percentage of the vote here than in any other state. But ordinary Vermonters are worried that he wonʼt be able to win this time, and are horrified by the prospect of another Trump presidential term," he said.
Peter Welch became the first senator and the tenth member of Congress from the Democratic Party to call on Biden to withdraw from the election.
- This yearʼs presidential election in the USA will be held on November 5, 2024. This will be the 60th presidential election in the history of the country, during which the 47th president of the USA will be elected. Former US president, billionaire Donald Trump and incumbent Joe Biden received the required number of delegates to be nominated for the US presidency. Neither Trump nor Biden will officially become the partyʼs nominees until national conventions vote this summer to elect them.
- On June 27, 2024, Biden and Trump held a televised debate, which the former actually lost. 81-year-old Bidenʼs health failed in general. After that, a number of media outlets wrote that despite criticism and predictions, Joe Bidenʼs family convinced him not to leave the presidential race.
- On June 3, CNN wrote that some of the leaders of the US Democratic Party want Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential election after an unsuccessful debate. A member of the House of Representatives, Lloyd Doggett, made the call publicly. This is the first such case in the Democratic Party. CNN writes that similar sentiments are shared by some of the leaders of the Democratic Party in Congress, but they want to give Biden the opportunity to make his own decisions.
- One of the main donors of the Democrats, the actor George Clooney, the editorial board of The New York Times and a number of analysts also publicly called for Biden to withdraw from the election.
- Biden himself said that he "almost fell asleep" and in general regretted that he did not listen to his advisers and did not rest before the debate with Trump. He attributed the fatigue to his busy schedule and a series of business trips abroad for summits and meetings.