Vance argues Biden should ‘resign now’

J.D. Vance, the Republicans’ vice presidential nominee, on Saturday said that if Democrats want President Biden to drop out of the race, they should go all the way and urge him to resign.

More and more Democratic lawmakers and donors have called on Mr. Biden to exit the race out of fear he can’t beat former President Donald Trump in November following an incoherent debate performance last month that confirmed questions about his cognitive ability. 

Mr. Biden has refused to heed their calls, vowing in a Friday campaign email that he’ll return to the campaign trail after recovering from COVID. 

Mr. Vance, still a senator from Ohio, said on X that lawmakers and donors calling on Mr. Biden to drop out must dig deeper and demand that the president leave the White House before his term ends.

“Everyone calling on Joe Biden to *stop running* without also calling on him to resign the presidency is engaged in an absurd level of cynicism,” he said. “If you can’t run, you can’t serve. He should resign now.”

So far, nearly 40 congressional Democrats have publicly demanded that Mr. Biden exit the race, but none have urged him to resign the presidency and few have offered alternatives for who could replace him on the ticket. 

Rep. Mark Takano of California on Saturday became the latest Democrat asking Mr. Biden to drop out. Mr. Takano, the top member of his party on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said in a statement that it was time for the president to “pass the torch” to Vice President Kamala Harris. 

“It has become clear to me that the demands of a modern campaign are now best met by the vice president, who can seamlessly transition into the role of our party’s standard-bearer,” Mr. Takano said. 

Also Saturday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Massachusetts Democrat, didn’t give a ringing endorsement to Mr. Biden but did say she supports him as the nominee. She noted that if he steps aside, Ms. Harris will be ready. 

“Joe Biden is our nominee,” Ms. Warren told MSNBC. “As I said before, he has a really big decision to make.” 

She added, “But what gives me a lot of hope right now is that if President Biden decides to step back, we have Vice President Kamala Harris who is ready to step up, to unite the party, to take on Donald Trump and to win in November. Remember, 80 million people voted for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in 2020.”