[WaPo] The top Democrats calling on Biden to drop out of the 2024 election

shitte is getting real now

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4768032-ashley-judd-biden-campaign/

Ashley Judd calls on Biden to step aside
by Lauren Irwin
07/12/24 8:15 AM ET

Actress Ashely Judd on Friday became the second high-profile celebrity this week to call on President Biden to end his reelection campaign and allow someone else to take on former President Trump this fall.

In an op-ed in USA Today, Judd noted that some of her closest friends and family are Trump supporters. Their beliefs, she said, coupled with Biden’s poor debate performance, show that the president is “incapable of countering Trump.”

“The defense of our cherished rights and freedoms, the moral imperative that we do better by more people, and our bodies, cannot be left to voters who see and are frightened of the consequences of President Biden’s obvious limitations, or who are now not going to vote,” Judd, who is an outspoken advocate for reproductive rights and the Biden campaign, wrote.

Judd pointed to Biden’s poor debate performance two weeks ago, arguing another Trump presidency “cannot be America’s future.”

The actress also noted that she does not make this decision lightly or easily, saying she believes in what Biden has done for the country, specifically job growth and American investment.

Judd argued that if Trump were reelected, there would be “very real hurt” among millions of Americans.

“The Democratic Party must not delay in thanking President Biden and supporting a talented, robust Democrat to be our party’s nominee,” she wrote. “We do not have another day for distraction or division among ourselves.”

Writing from rural Tennessee, Judd said “it is clear” that Americans have made up their minds against Biden, “on top of the majority who love to vote for Donald Trump.”

Judd’s op-ed follows that of actor George Clooney. Clooney wrote in The New York Times on Thursday, calling on Biden to step aside.

His declaration sent shockwaves from Washington to the West Coast and could have greater impacts in Hollywood.

A growing number of Democratic lawmakers and donors are calling on the president to suspend his campaign and allow someone new the chance to take on Trump.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/house/4768286-democrat-joe-biden-withdraw/

First-term Colorado Democrat calls on Biden to ‘pass the torch’
by Caroline Vakil

First-term Rep. Brittany Pettersen (D-Colo.) on Friday called on President Biden to “pass the torch” and withdraw from the presidential race.

Her statement came the morning after the president’s widely anticipated news conference to wrap up the NATO summit in Washington, which supporters hoped would quell Democratic fears around his campaign.

She is the 17th House Democrat to call on Biden to step aside.

“Joe Biden saved our country once, and I’m joining the growing number of people in my district and across the country to ask him to do it again,” Pettersen said in a statementposted on social platform X.

“Please pass the torch to one of our many capable Democratic leaders so we have the best chance to defeat Donald Trump, who is the greatest threat to the foundation of this country that we have ever faced,” she continued.

The Colorado Democrat said she had “deep admiration” and "love" for the president and the work he’s done, but “my son and my constituents can’t suffer the consequences of inaction at this critical moment.”

Pettersen is the fourth House Democrat to call on Biden to withdraw from the race after the president held a news conference in which he sought to tamp down fears over his age and mental fitness — and his candidacy more generally.

Reps. Jim Himes (D-Conn.), Scott Peters (D-Calif.) and Eric Sorensen (D-Ill.) also called on Biden to step aside after the event.

Though the news conference was seen as a better performance by the president than his interview with ABC News last week, it has not quelled concerns within the party that he could jeopardize Democrats' chances of keeping the White House and flipping the House in November.

Notably, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) issued a letter Friday saying he met with Biden privately Thursday evening, when he “directly expressed the full breadth of insight, heartfelt perspectives and conclusions about the path forward that the Caucus has shared in our recent time together.”
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NY Times just reporting this news

Donors to Pro-Biden Super PAC Are Said to Withhold Roughly $90 Million
The decision to withhold such enormous sums of money is one of the most concrete examples of the fallout from President Biden’s poor debate performance at the end of June.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/12/us/politics/biden-donors-money.html?smid=tw-nytimes&smtyp=cur

excerpt:

Some major Democratic donors have told the largest pro-Biden super PAC, Future Forward, that pledges worth roughly $90 million are now on hold if President Biden remains atop the ticket, according to two people who have been briefed on the conversations.

The frozen contributions include multiple eight-figure commitments, according to the two people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. The decision to withhold such enormous sums of money is one of the most concrete examples of the fallout from Mr. Biden’s poor debate performance at the end of June.

Future Forward declined to comment on any conversations with donors or the amounts of any pledged money being withheld. A Future Forward adviser would say only that the group expected contributors who had paused donations to return once the current uncertainty about the ticket was resolved.

Separately, one donor to the group described being approached multiple times by Future Forward since the debate for a contribution, but said he and his friends had been “holding off.”
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more

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/poli...nce-reaction/#link-N5J3RRGYBVGIDDWKNAISGVTWJM

3 min ago
Rep. Mike Levin calls on Biden to withdraw from presidential race
Return to menu

By Marianna Sotomayor
Congressional reporter covering the House of Representatives

Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) on Friday became the 21st House Democrat to call on President Biden to end his reelection campaign.

Levin, who represents a swing district in Southern California, has remained notably silent on Biden’s electability while on Capitol Hill this week. His tendency not to opine publicly on divisive manners is why his statement landed with a thud.

“Like so many of you, I was naturally concerned about President Biden’s performance in the recent debate,” Levin said. “Making this statement is not easy. I have deep respect for President Biden’s five-plus decades of public service … But I believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch.”

Levin said he made his decision after talking to “literally several hundred” constituents and supporters, who he said were candid in their assessment of what Biden should do. Levin is one of many House Democrats who spent the week gravely concerned about the president’s reelection chances, but chose — like many colleagues — to make his “opinions known in the appropriate manner with House Democratic leadership and my colleagues.”

“I called upon all Americans to give the President a window to make an expeditious decision about his candidacy,” he wrote. “It is time to move forward. With a new leader. Together.”

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well I'm informed Biden has immunity and if his underlings kill anyone he can just go ahead and pardon them. no worries

 

Biden has lost Charles Barkley. game over.

https://thehill.com/blogs/in-the-kn...en-donald-trump-pass-the-torch-2024-election/

10 minutes ago
Charles Barkley tells Biden to 'pass the torch,' but would 'never' vote for Trump
by Tara Suter
07/12/24 4:02 PM ET

Former basketball player and TV personality Charles Barkley said President Biden should “pass the torch,” but clarified that he would never vote for former President Trump.

“I have nothing but admiration and respect for President Biden, but it’s time for him to pass the torch to a younger generation,” Barkley told CNBC’s Dominic Chu Thursday on “Closing Bell." “He’s been a great person, he’s been a great man.”

Biden continues to face political headwinds in the wake of a rocky debate performance against former President Trump last month. While on stage, the president spoke with a raspy voice and stumbled over his words, raising questions about his age, mental fitness and ability to recapture the White House in November.

“He’s had a great life, he’s one of the greatest people I’ve ever been fortunate to be around in my life, but it’s time to pass the torch,” Barkley said of the president. “And listen… President Trump, I would never vote for somebody who had that mentality. You should always have respect… for the office of whoever who’s in the presidency.”

"I get mad at these sports teams. Some of these bozos won't visit the White House because it's a Democrat or a Republican in there. That is stupid," he added. "It's the President of the United States. We should always admire that office, no matter who's in there."

Biden and his allies have pushed back on calls for him to leave the presidential race, even as an increasing number of Democratic lawmakers are pressuring him to withdraw.

At a press conference Thursday night, Biden said he believes “he is “the most qualified person to run for president.”

“I believe I’m the best qualified to govern,” he added later. “And I think I’m the best qualified to win. But there are other people who could beat Trump too. But it’s all start from scratch. And you know, we talk about money raised. We’re not doing bad.

He continued, saying “The fact is, the consideration is, that I think I’m the most qualified person to run for president. I beat him once, and I will beat him again.”
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and it would all be perfectly legal thanks to that damn MAGAt Supreme Court