Rep. Raul Grijalva of Arizona on Wednesday became the second Democratic member of the House to call on President Biden to pull the plug on his reelection push after his fumbling debate performance last week.
“If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him. But I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Mr. Grijalva told The New York Times. “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.”
The comments from the former co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus come a day after Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first elected Democrat on Capitol Hill to say it was time for the party to replace Mr. Biden.
Mr. Doggett said the risk of former President Donald Trump returning to the White House demands a change.
“The debate, instead of adding momentum, added disappointment and disillusionment,” he said. “The idea of having a new person who might excite all those double haters, that there’s another alternative out there, can bring us together, would give us a much better chance in the fall.”
The Trump campaign on Wednesday said Democrats can run but cannot hide from the role they have played in propping up Mr. Biden.
“Every Democrat who is calling on Crooked Joe Biden to quit was once a supporter of Biden and his failed policies that lead to extreme inflation, an open border, and chaos at home and abroad,” Trump campaign chief strategists Chris LaCivita and Susie Wiles said in a statement.
“Make no mistake that Democrats, the mainstream media, and the swamp colluded to hide the truth from the American public - Joe Biden is weak, failed, dishonest, and not fit for the White House,” they said.
“Every one of them has lied about Joe Biden’s cognitive state and supported his disastrous policies over the past four years, especially Cackling Copilot Kamala Harris,” they said.
Ms. Harris has emerged as one of the most likely replacements for Mr. Biden if he leaves the race.
A New York Times-Siena College poll released Wednesday showed that 57% of likely voters believe Democrats should tap someone other than Mr. Biden as the party’s nominee, and three out of four voters overall agreed that Mr. Biden is “just too old to be an effective president.”
• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.
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