Representative Adam Schiff (D., Calif.) called on Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race on Wednesday, citing “serious concerns” about the president’s electoral viability.
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 told the Los Angeles Times. “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 joins a growing faction of Democrats calling on the president to drop out before November’s election, due to rising concerns about Biden’s mental acuity. Representative Lloyd Doggett, the first House Democrat to call for Biden’s withdrawal, said this week that “our decision must consider the reality of steadily, worsening poll numbers, not just more wishful thinking. The risk of Trump tyranny is so great that we must put forward our strongest nominee.”
Democratic National Committee officials delayed their plans to nominate Biden via virtual roll call until August 1 this week, after Democrats urged the party to hold off on the nominating process.
“It’s a heck of a lot better than a jammed process that will tear us apart next week,” Representative Jared Huffman (D., Calif.) said of the delayed vote. “This whole idea of jamming it through in mid-July crumbled under pressure, and that’s, I think, a good thing.”
Schiff encouraged Biden to “pass the torch” and “secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.”
Biden will not drop out unless polling were to show that “there’s no way you can win,” he said last week. Twenty Democratic representatives so far have called on Biden to drop out — including Angie Craig (Minn.) who said that “I do not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump” in early July, and Raúl M. Grijalva (Ariz.), who said that “what he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race.”
Almost two-thirds of Democrats think Biden should withdraw from the race, according to a new poll conducted by AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research. Only 30 percent of Democrats said that they were extremely or very confident in Biden’s mental capability.
Schiff is a Senate candidate, and is supported by top Democratic players, including his mentor and close ally, former speaker Nancy Pelosi (D., Calif.). Pelosi said of Schiff last year when she offered him an early endorsement that he “knows well the nexus between a strong Democracy and a strong economy.”