California Rep. Adam Schiff calls for Biden to step aside
California Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff, is calling for President Biden to step aside from his bid for re-election, according to a statement obtained by NPR. The statement was first reported by The LA Times.
In the statement, Schiff, who is currently running for Senate in California, called on Biden to “pass the torch” and “secure his legacy of leadership” by allowing Democrats to defeat Donald Trump.
"Joe Biden has been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation's history, and his lifetime of service as a Senator, a Vice President, and now as President has made our country better," Schiff wrote. "But our nation is at a crossroads. A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November."
Schiff is the highest-profile Democrat to call for Biden to drop out.
Asked for a response, the Biden campaign pointed to Biden's campaign events this week. He is in Las Vegas campaigning with members of the Congressional Black and Hispanic caucuses.
Biden has said repeatedly that he is not dropping out of the race, and that he believes he is best person to lead the party through the election.
Schiff went on to say the decision is entirely up to Biden and he will support the party's nominee, whoever it may be.
In recent days, Biden has acknowledged that he is still facing doubt in his party. "The story goes [former President Harry] Truman said, if you want a friend in Washington, get a dog," Biden told the NAACP annual convention in Las Vegas. "After the last couple of weeks, I know what he means."
Schiff's statement comes amid a fresh push from skittish Democrats for Biden to step aside. The calls briefly subsided following the attempted assassination of Trump at a rally on Saturday in Pennsylvania. But the clear enthusiasm and confidence of Republicans on display at the Republican National Convention paired with new polls showing slipping support for Biden are fueling Democrats' fears.
Those frustrations have been exacerbated in recent days as the Democratic National Committee is preparing to officially make Biden to be the party’s nominee in a virtual roll call vote that could happen weeks before the party’s convention that begins on August 19 in Chicago.
Transcript
SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The assassination attempt on Saturday against Republican nominee Donald Trump paused - for a little bit - the public calls from Democrats for President Biden to step aside. But that changed today. California Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff is the latest high-profile lawmaker to say Biden should pass the torch. Congressional correspondent Deirdre Walsh is here to talk about it. Deirdre, another day, another conversation about Democrats calling on President Biden to step aside. Hey.
DEIRDRE WALSH, BYLINE: Right - still going.
DETROW: Still going. So how significant is it that Schiff is now publicly pressing the president to withdraw?
WALSH: It just really reflects that there's still a lot of serious anxiety going on behind the scenes and concerns that the president and the small circle of those around him are not getting the message - that there are still serious concerns from Congressional Democrats about his candidacy. Schiff is running for Senate. He's heavily favored to win in California, but he's an influential voice inside the House Democratic Caucus. He's very close to former speaker Nancy Pelosi. In his written statement today, Schiff says Biden is one of the most consequential presidents in history. But he says the nation's at a crossroads, and Schiff has, quote, "serious concerns" about whether Biden can beat Trump. He says it's Biden's call to make. Biden, for his part, repeatedly says he's not going anywhere.
DETROW: Any sense today whether more calls like this could still be coming?
WALSH: You know, potentially, but there's no sign the president is changing his plans. The Biden campaign got more bad news today in the form of a new AP poll that showed nearly two-thirds of Democrats say Biden should jump out - should drop out of the race and let the party nominate somebody else. I've been talking to Democrats and party strategists, and they've said, you know, the combination of concerns about Biden's fitness for office combined with the assassination attempt on GOP nominee Donald Trump has just boosted enthusiasm among Republicans at a time that Democrat enthusiasm is really down.
And Democrats are worried this means the map is really going to expand in terms of what races are competitive now. One Democratic strategist I talked to who advises candidates in competitive race says the advice the strategist is giving is telling Democrats to distance themselves from Biden as much as they can, count on much heavier Republican turnout and not a lot of help from the party in terms of resources.
DETROW: And this isn't the only tension among Democrats right now. There's also been a lot of concern about a move to formally nominate Biden in a virtual roll call that would happen weeks ahead of their August convention. Is that still the plan?
WALSH: The plans are still moving forward to have one. I mean, this is - in a sign that there's still major unrest, there was a letter circulated from some Democrats arguing there's no legal justification for doing any virtual roll call before the August 19 Democratic Convention. DNC officials are pointing to an Ohio law they said creates some kind of risk that the nominee won't get on the ballot, and they wanted to sort of head off any legal challenges by doing this roll call ahead of time.
But top party leaders got involved. I'm told Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries pushed the DNC, if they're going to move forward on this, to do it closer to the conventions, and party officials involved in that effort are meeting this weekend but are saying now there will be no vote before August 1.
DETROW: This storyline has been playing out for weeks at this point. At this moment, could the party still try to replace Biden?
WALSH: There's still conversation, but no organized effort. Biden is the only person who can release his delegates. He's showing no sign of doing that. He campaigned with senior members of the Congressional Black Caucus in Nevada yesterday, but the worries are not going away, Scott.
DETROW: That's NPR's Deirdre Walsh. Thank you so much.
WALSH: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
300x250 Ad
300x250 Ad