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

https://www.washingtonpost.com/elec...aign-updates/#link-COEJDJCBRNB53PUN6DTGDCERP4

10 min ago
By Nicole Markus

Rep. Morgan McGarvey (D-Ky.) called for President Biden to step aside Friday, saying there was “no joy” in recognizing he should not be the nominee. McGarvey is the tenth Democratic lawmaker to call for Biden to resign the nomination today, the greatest single number in one day since calls for Biden to drop out began in earnest in June.
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if you're keeping a scorecard

 

well clearly this cannot be true. all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation

https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/4782422-coons-biden-democractic-nominee/

an hour ago
Coons, campaign co-chair, says Biden 'weighing' who will be best to defeat Trump
by Alexander Bolton
07/19/24 3:34 PM ET

Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), national co-chair of President Biden’s reelection campaign, said Friday that Biden is “weighing” who would be the best Democratic nominee to defeat former President Trump in November, indicating Biden is carefully evaluating the option of stepping aside for another candidate.

But Coons also emphasized he thinks Biden would be the strongest choice to challenge Trump in the general election, and he later posted a statement on social media declaring Biden is “in it to win it.”

“This is an internal party matter and a matter of the campaign that is playing out very publicly. I think our president is weighing what he should weigh, which is: Who is the best candidate to win in November and to carry forward the Democratic Party’s values and priorities in this campaign?” Coons said at the Aspen Security Forum.

He made his remarks after a panel moderator what factors Biden is considering as he decides how to proceed with his campaign amidst calls by Democratic lawmakers to drop out of the race.

Coons reiterated his support for Biden and extolled his record of the last 3 1/2 years.

“He has been an exceptional president. He has campaigned effectively, he has led effectively,” Coons said, citing Biden’s leadership at the NATO summit in Washington last week.

“He chaired … meeting after meeting, three days of the NATO summit — strongest NATO has ever been — did a press conference, did campaign events, did campaign rallies, and there are folks still saying he’s not strong enough or capable enough to be our next president. I disagree,” he said.

Coons, shortly afterward, posted a statement on the social platform X that seemed intended to dispel expectations that Biden may soon drop out of the race.

“I fully support the president. He’s told me he’s in it to win it. I’m with him 100% because I know he can beat Trump just like he did last time,” he posted.

Biden campaign staff on Friday tried to stamp out talk of Biden reconsidering his decision to stay in the race.

“Absolutely, the president’s in this race,” Jen O’Malley Dillon told MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” in an interview Friday morning.

“You have heard from the president directly, time and time again: He is in this race to win and he is our nominee, and he’s going to be our president for a second term,” she insisted when asked about reports that Biden may soon end his reelection bid.



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https://www.washingtonpost.com/elec...aign-updates/#link-LCZVKX5S7JDKVKNW4ZK4L5OORE

2 min ago
By Mariana Alfaro
Reporter on the breaking political news team

Rep. Gabe Vasquez (D-N.M.) is also calling for President Biden to drop out of the presidential race. In a statement, Vasquez said that while he believes Biden is an “honorable public servant,” he should “step aside to give Democrats the best opportunity to win this November.”

Vasquez’s statement is notable because he is a frontline Democrat at risk of losing his swing district seat. Biden’s polling in New Mexico has also fallen.

Vasquez is also part of the Bold PAC, the political arm of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, which on Friday endorsed Biden. That endorsement, however, was not supported by all members of the group.

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I gotta think that has all the classic earmarks of a Russian information operation

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/elec...aign-updates/#link-6PJVD7TLWJBF7LDMMGOZTOIGK4

1 hour ago
Sen. Sherrod Brown also calls on Biden to step aside
By Mariana Alfaro
Reporter on the breaking political news team

Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat running for reelection in an extremely competitive race in Ohio, joined the calls for President Biden to step away from the presidential race.

“I agree with the many Ohioans who have reached out to me,” Brownsaid in a statement on X that was first reported by NBC News. “At this critical time, our full attention must return to these important issues. I think the President should end his campaign.”

Over the last few weeks, Brown said he had “heard from Ohioans on important issues, such as how to continue to grow jobs in our state, give law enforcement the resources to crack down on fentanyl, protect Social Security and Medicare from cuts, and prevent the ongoing efforts to impose a national abortion ban.”

Bernie Moreno, a former car dealer endorsed by former president Donald Trump, will face Brown in the November election. The contest is one of a small number that could determine control of the Senate next year.

Brown is the fourth Senate Democrat to call for Biden to leave the ticket. Earlier on Friday, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) called for Biden to leave the race. On Thursday, Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) who also faces a tough reelection race, also called for Biden to leave the ticket.

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California, Illinois Democrats dominate list of those asking Biden to exit race

https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/4782294-california-illinois-biden-race-withdraw/

spoiler alert: Pelosi is from California. Obama is from Illinois.

 

Major Democratic donor tells Biden to choose ‘vanity or virtue’

https://thehill.com/homenews/campai...-michael-mortiz-joe-biden-withdraw-2024-race/

excerpt:

Michael Mortiz, a major Democratic donor, has joined the calls for President Biden to drop out of the presidential race against former President Trump.

With his public comment, Mortiz — a billionaire Silicon Valley venture capitalist — becomes one of the Democratic party’s largest contributors to pressure Biden to suspend his campaign.

“Sadly, President Biden has a choice — vanity or virtue,” Mortiz said in an email Friday to The New York Times. “He can either condemn the country to dark and cruel times or heed the voice of Father Time. The clock has run out.”

The Times noted that Mortiz has given $7.8 million to pro-Biden and anti-Trump initiatives in the 2024 election cycle so far. Most of it, about $6.8 million, went to American Bridge PAC, which runs anti-Trump advertisements in battleground states.

In another email to the Times, Mortiz said all of his donation to the Democratic Party, not just Biden, was now on hold.

“I would vote for Biden, but I would not give another penny to any fund-raising appeals from Democrats,” he said.

Mortiz joins a growing list of Democratic donors who have urged the president to suspend his campaign. Netflix’s co-founder and executive chairman Reed Hastings has also doubled down on his call for Biden to withdraw. Bill Harris, the former CEO of Paypal, recently said he thinks it's inevitable that the incumbent step aside.

Whitney Tilson, a major investor for Democrats, said it’s “highly unlikely” that Biden can beat Trump in November. Tilson told ABC News that “even the wealthiest people have limitations on money” and will hold his donation in order to support a new candidate.

Billionaire Rick Caruso also posted online saying it’s time for Biden to step aside. Damon Lindelof, the co-creator of “Lost” and a notable Democratic Party supporter, called on his fellow donors to stop giving money until the president makes the decision to withdraw.
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more at the link

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/elec...aign-updates/#link-IDJQZ42EV5DDFFDESPKOK5QNXM

7 min ago
By Julie Weil
Tax reporter

Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.) publicly joins the list of lawmakers in President Biden’s party calling for him to end his campaign. In a statement on Saturday, Takano said that Vice President Harris would be better suited to the task of “saving democracy” by winning the presidential election. The Washington Post reported two weeks ago that Takano had privately called for Biden to step aside.
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Elizabeth Warren Signals Support for Harris if Biden Drops Out
Liberal U.S. senator from Massachusetts says Biden has ‘a really big decision to make’

https://www.wsj.com/politics/electi...-if-biden-drops-out-8982027e?mod=hp_lead_pos4

excerpt:

WASHINGTON—A leading voice in Democratic Party’s liberal wing made a case for Vice President Kamala Harris to become the presidential nominee should President Biden step aside, the latest indication that top party leaders are plotting out a future with a different ticket.

Harris is ready to “step up” and “unite the party to take on Donald Trump,” Elizabeth Warren, the senator from Massachusetts, said Saturday on MSNBC. Warren vouched for Harris as a crusader against big banks and heralded her efforts to protect abortion rights.

“Look, if you’re running against a convicted felon, then a prosecutor like Kamala is really a good person to make that case,” Warren said, referring to Harris’s previous roles as California’s attorney general and San Francisco’s district attorney.

Warren’s remarks—along with the other comments from Democrats backing Harris—offer a public glimpse into the extent to which party leaders are already positioning for the possibility of Biden stepping aside. It remains an open question whether Biden would push for Harris to replace him or favor a more open contest that some Democrats worry could become a nasty free-for-all.

In her Saturday remarks, Warren said for the first time that Biden “has a really big decision to make” about his candidacy, a phrase that has become something of a calling card for Democrats looking to gently nudge Biden out of the race. Biden, 81 years old, has said he would remain the party’s nominee. He has faced calls to step down since his disastrous debate performance last month and his subsequent uneven attempts to show that he’s still a vigorous campaigner.

Biden’s main opponent in the race, Republican former President Donald Trump, was campaigning in Michigan Saturday—rallying voters in a must-win state for Biden. Meanwhile, the president was holed up in Rehoboth Beach, Del., recovering from a Covid-19 infection. Biden’s doctor said Saturday that the president’s “symptoms continue to improve steadily.” Biden received virtual briefings from several top aides, including one from chief of staff Jeff Zients.

Also on Saturday, Rep. Mark Takano (D., Calif.) called on Biden to exit from the race and backed Harris as his replacement, adding his voice to the roughly three dozen members of Congress asking him to step aside.
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more at the link