Colorado Rep. Brittany Pettersen and Rep. Mike Levin of California are the latest of several congressional Democrats to call for Biden to step aside in the wake of Biden’s Thursday NATO press briefing, during which he made several gaffes. Democratic Reps. Jim Himes of Connecticut, Scott Peters of California and Eric Sorensen of Illinois also called on Biden to step down following the briefing, with Peters saying that “we are on a losing course” keeping Biden in the race, according to NBC News.
“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. 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,” Pettersen said in her statement Friday.
Pettersen and Levin join at least 17 other Congressional Democrats who have called for Biden to step down, according to ABC News. Biden has so far shown no sign of ending his bid for reelection.
With deep appreciation and love, @joebiden please pass the torch. Read my statement here: pic.twitter.com/AN0c3JcApF
— Brittany Pettersen (@pettersen4co) July 12, 2024
One of the many gaffes Biden made at the conference included mistakenly referring to Vice President Kamala Harris as “Vice President Trump” and, in earlier remarks, calling Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky “President Putin.”
Recent calls for Biden to exit the race follow a poor debate performance in late June against former President Donald Trump, where he appeared to freeze on several occasions and made numerous gaffes.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reportedly urged Democrats behind closed doors to refrain from making statements about Biden’s fitness as president until after the NATO summit out of respect for him and for “national security.” Publicly, Pelosi has said that she fully supports the president in whatever decision he makes regarding his bid for a second term.
Pelosi also said following the debate that it was “legitimate” to question the president’s mental acuity and to ask whether what was seen on stage was a symptom of a longer-term problem rather than just an “episode,” according to NBC News. The former speaker also called for both Trump and Biden to be given whatever mental test is demanded of them.
For years, polling has shown Americans have had concerns over Biden’s age and ability to perform his required duties. Liberal media largely downplayed or dismissed these concerns as overblown or as right-wing conspiracies.
The Biden campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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