Daines urges Biden to resign, MT delegation responds

Just last week the lone Democrat in the group, senior U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, called on Biden to quit the campaign, saying after his poor debate performance in late June he hadn’t done enough to prove he was up to the task.

Tester in a statement Sunday said: “I respect President Biden’s decision and believe it is the right thing to do for our country. Sharla and I thank him for his lifetime of public service and dedication to our great nation.”

Montana’s junior U.S. Sen. Steve Daines, the Republican heading up the National Republican Senatorial Committee’s efforts to unseat Tester this fall, sent a press release from his congressional office calling for Biden to resign the presidency as well.

“As a country, we all watched the debate and it was immediately clear there is something wrong with President Biden. Since then, several prominent Democrats have come forward with stories that suggest Joe Biden has a condition that is getting worse, not better,” the release said.

“If Joe Biden is no longer capable of running for re-election, he is no longer capable of serving as 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.”

Daines cited concerns over national security as the reason for a formal call to Biden to resign. Tester’s office said that the president was elected by the American people and the senator respects the results of that 2020 election.

Tester is running against Republican and former Navy SEAL Tim Sheehy.

Sheehy on Sunday posted to the platform X: ” … The truth is, Joe Biden must immediately resign as president of the United States — because if you’re not fit to even run for president, you’re not fit to serve as commander-in-chief for one day longer. Further, if Jon Tester isn’t endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris for president, then does he believe she’s also unfit to serve as president? It’s time to turn the page on this disastrous era of American weakness and bring in a new generation of strong America First leadership to save our country from the Biden-Tester agenda,” the post said. Sheehy’s post also criticized Tester’s 2023 statement to NBC News that Biden was “100% with it.”

Last week when Tester called on Biden to drop out, Sheehy and other Republicans implied that meant Tester supported Harris as the nominee, though Tester’s office said he backs an open nomination process. At the Republican National Convention last week Harris was cast as the nominee and speakers — who often mispronounced her name — were sharply critical of her.

The NRSC that Daines heads up said in a statement Sunday: “The NRSC looks forward to welcoming Kamala Harris to every single swing state. The only question is whether vulnerable Democrat senators will join her or continue to make up fake ‘scheduling conflicts.'”

Tester has had to walk a tightrope with Biden, a candidate who lost in Montana in 2020 to former Republican President Donald Trump by a 16-point margin. Tester has touted successes from the administration, such as the massive bipartisan infrastructure bill that’s brought millions of dollars to the state, and worked in this election to highlight where he parts from the president on issues like agriculture and gun laws. 

Jeremy Johnson, the head of the political science department at Carroll College in Helena, said Sunday that Biden dropping out of the race is unprecedented, making it hard to say what effect it’ll have on races in Montana.

Tester has long worked to separate himself from his party’s top of the ticket, Johnson noted, and in this situation had already called on Biden to withdraw.

“Tester’s advertisements have tried to stake out independence from Biden and Washington Democrats in general,” Johnson said. “… I’m not sure how much it’s going to matter because Tester already has independence from the Washington Democrats.”

Tester, like other Democrats who have won in Montana, also polls much better in the state than the top of his party’s ticket.

Regardless of who the eventual Democratic nominee will be, Johnson said Tester won’t be running a campaign that highlights that person, even if that’s exactly what his Republican opponent aims to do.

Back in 2018, then former Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the Montana Democratic Party’s fundraising dinner in support of Tester.

“Looks like the kind of a guy who could lift an ox out of a ditch,” he said, according to the Great Falls Tribune. He later added: “If I’d walk out into a parking lot and seven guys jumped me, this S-O-B would jump in and help me.”

The Montana State News Bureau has also reached out to Montana’s Republican U.S. Reps. Matt Rosendale and Ryan Zinke, as well as candidates for House seats including Democrat Monica Tranel, who is running in the western district against Zinke; and Republican Troy Downing and Democrat John Driscoll, who are facing off in the eastern district.

In a statement on X, Zinke said Sunday: “President Biden’s decision to not seek reelection was the right move, albeit far too late. The Biden Presidency has been an unmitigated disaster both foreign and domestic. We face multiple wars and direct attacks on Israel. We have no border and our kids are dying of fentanyl. Americans can’t feed their families without government (subsidies) or afford housing. A total and complete disaster. Regardless of who the Democrats nominate what they fail to realize is Donald J. Trump is more than a man. He represents a movement of millions of Americans who are ready to Make America Great Again and Save Our Country.”

Downing, who is the Montana state auditor, also called on Biden to resign. 

“Joe Biden is completely unfit to run for another term,” Downing said in a statement. “This also means he is unfit to continue his time in charge of our troops as commander in chief, to have control of the nuclear codes and to represent the most powerful nation on the planet. Joe Biden should resign immediately.”

Driscoll thanked Biden. “I know how hard it must have been for President Biden and his family. Truth is I prayed for them a lot. He did well for our country and I am grateful,” he said Sunday.

The Montana Democratic Party on Sunday issued a statement recognizing Biden’s accomplishments.

“From revitalizing America’s infrastructure to bringing down the cost of health care, the president has been a champion for working people and we’re grateful for the historic accomplishments of this administration. We respect President Biden’s decision and thank him for a lifetime of public service. Montana Democrats are committed to working hard for our candidates up and down the ballot and winning in November,” Executive Director Sheila Hogan said.

Montana Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte also called into question if Biden should finish his term.

“There are a lot of questions here, and the American people deserve answers. If Joe Biden is incapable of running for reelection and serving another term, it’s a fair question whether he can or should finish out his current term. And as Joe Biden’s vice president, Kamala Harris should come clean about why she actively hid Joe Biden’s condition from the American people,” Gianforte said in an emailed statement.

Ryan Busse, the Democrat running against Gianforte, said through campaign manager Aaron Murphy that Biden made the right decision.

“Ryan believes the president’s decision is the right call, and he’s focused on beating the other incumbent with a 37% approval rating, Greg Gianforte.” That refers to a poll earlier this year.

This story will be updated.