Senator Joe Manchin (I., W. Va.) on Sunday called on President Biden to drop out of the presidential race and “pass the torch” to another Democratic candidate.
“I came to decision with a heavy heart that I think it’s time to pass the torch to new generation,” Manchin said during an appearance on CNN’s State of the Union.
“I want him to be the president in the last five months of this presidency of his term, to do what he can do is unite our country, to calm down the rhetoric and be able to focus attention to peace in the world,” Manchin said. “Campaigning, I’ve been to statewide campaigns many times it is an unbelievable challenge to anybody, to anybody physically, mentally, every way, shape and form. And right now, the country and the world needs our President Joe Biden, but the compassion he’s always had and the ability to bring people together to use all of his forces and energy towards that.”
The Democrat-turned-independent is at least the fifth senator to call on Biden to exit the race, after Democratic Senators Sherrod Brown, Jon Tester, Martin Heinrich, and Peter Welch made similar appeals in recent days.
“The first week after the debate, I thought the president needed time to evaluate and make a decision if he was going to at that time, and then I thought, well, we’d hear from my colleagues who are in very difficult, challenging areas of the country, whether it be in Congress, as far as their districts, or in the states, as far as my senators, and they’re speaking out now,” Manchin said during an appearance on ABC’s This Week.
“And then when you see the donor class, basically, speaking up and saying that they went a different direction, if you will,” he added.
He said dropping out now would allow Biden to better focus on a number of issues, including uniting the country, achieving a ceasefire in Gaza, and helping Ukraine in its war against Russia, while being “able to show the rest of the world the orderly transfer of power from the superpower of the world.”
“He will go down with a legacy unlike many people, as one of the finest and truly a [patriotic] American,” Manchin said. “So, with that, I come with a heavy heart to think the time has come for him to pass the torch to a new generation.”
Manchin called for an “open process” to select a new Democratic nominee.
“I think that we have a lot of talent on the bench, a lot of good people,” said Manchin, who left the Democratic party in May.
“I’ve got two tremendous governors right next door to me and Andy Beshear in Kentucky and Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania who are operating with legislators either evenly split or completely opposite of their party affiliation,” he said. “They haven’t divided their state. They haven’t made you pick aside and demonize the other side. They brought people together. This is what an open process would do.”