U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., said Saturday that President Joe Biden should step aside and let someone else run for president on the Democratic ticket.
“If we truly believe that Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans must be stopped, there is only a small window left to make sure we have a candidate best equipped to make the case and win,” the Minnesota lawmaker said in a statement. “This future of our country is bigger than any one of us. It’s up to the President from here.”
Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn. (Manuel Balce Ceneta / Associated Press file)
Craig, who represents Minnesota’s Second Congressional District, is the fifth Democrat publicly calling for Biden to step aside after his performance at last month’s presidential debate in Atlanta sparked concerns about his ability to win re-election.
Biden’s poor performance at the June 27 debate reportedly alarmed Democrats and his financial backers. The ripple effect includes questions about whether Biden is up for a campaign that’s only going to get nastier and whether he can effectively govern for another four years if he wins, according to the Associated Press.
Although Craig says she has “great respect” for Biden’s years of service and his “steadfast commitment to making our country a better place,” she said that events over the past week prompted her decision.
“Given what I saw and heard from the President during last week’s debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of a forceful response from the President himself following that debate, I do not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump,” Craig said in the statement.
“This is not a decision I’ve come to lightly, but there is simply too much at stake to risk a second Donald Trump presidency. That’s why I respectfully call on President Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee for a second term as President and allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward.”
The White House has pushed back in recent days.
“We understand the concerns. We get it,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said earlier. But she insisted Biden has no intention of stepping away from the campaign. “The president is clear-eyed and he is staying in the race.”
In her news release, Craig said it was time for someone else to take the lead for the Democratic Party.
“Our party has an extraordinary number of talented leaders within it,” she said. “I believe this is an opportunity to put forward an open, fair, and transparent Democratic process to select a new nominee to inspire and unite our great nation.”
Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas on Tuesday became the first House Democrat to call for the president to withdraw, saying “too much is at stake” for Biden to stay in the race and lose to Trump.
Others have pledged their support of the president’s decision to remain in the race.
CBS News reported that after a meeting at the White House on Wednesday, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said Biden is “fit for office” even as some fellow Democrats called for him to withdraw from the race amid concerns about his poor debate performance.
Walz, chair of the Democratic Governors Association, joined several of his Democratic colleagues leading states across the country — some in-person, some virtually — to speak with the president directly. He and Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Kathy Hochul of New York addressed reporters following their discussion and pledged their support.
“He has had our backs through COVID, through all of the recovery, all the things that have happened. The governors have his back,” Walz said. “We’re working together. Just to make very, very clear on that: A path to victory in November is the number one priority. And that’s the number one priority of the president.”
There were signs party leaders realize the standoff needs to end. Some of the most senior lawmakers, including Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi and Rep. James Clyburn, are now publicly working to bring the party back to the president. Pelosi and Clyburn had both raised pointed questions about Biden in the aftermath of the debate.
This report includes information from the Associated Press.
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