On Wednesday, Vermont Sen. Peter Welch became the first Democratic senator to publicly call for President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
In an op-ed published in The Washington Post, Welch said too much was balanced on the outcome of November’s election. He warned of an extreme agenda from Republicans.
“The stakes could not be higher. We cannot unsee President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night,” Welch wrote. “For the good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race.”
Welch’s call is the most prominent yet to underscore doubts about President Biden’s ability to secure a win.
Eleven Congressional Democrats across the Senate and the House have now called on the president to withdraw, according to analysis by Scripps News. A further 28 lawmakers have raised concerns about President Biden’s ability to win the election, but have stopped short of saying the president should exit the race.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Colorado Sen. Michael Bennett became the first senator to share public doubts about President Biden’s ability to win the election.
“Donald Trump is on track, I think, to win this election, and maybe win it by a landslide, and take with him the Senate and the House,” Bennett said in an interview with CNN’s Kaitlan Collins.
“The White House, in the time since that disastrous debate, I think, has done nothing to really demonstrate that they have a plan to win this election,” Bennett said.
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Concerns also extend beyond Congress.
Ian Bremmer, president of the Eurasia Group and president of GZERO Media, told Scripps News on Wednesday that several international leaders at the NATO summit in Washington have expressed concerns about whether President Biden could serve a second term.
“In NATO, these are leaders that like Biden,” Bremmer said on “The Race” with Scripps News’ Chance Seales.
“There’s not a world leader that I’ve spoken with this week that believes that President Biden can serve out another four years,” Bremmer said.
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