President Joe Biden speaks to supporters during a campaign rally at Sherman Middle School on July 05, 2024 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Scott Olson | Getty Images
President Joe Biden did not assuage Democratic anxieties about his 2024 reelection bid against former President Donald Trump during a highly-anticipated ABC News interview on Friday night, his first televised interview since his fumbling debate performance in June.
On Saturday, House Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., officially called on Biden to bow out of the presidential race.
“This is not a decision I’ve come to lightly, but there is simply too much at stake to risk a second Donald Trump presidency,” Craig said in a statement on Saturday morning. “That’s why I respectfully call on President Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee for a second term as President and allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward.”
Craig is now the fifth House Democrat to call on Biden to exit. Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Il., made his own announcement during an MSNBC interview Friday, just before the full ABC News 22-minute interview aired.
They join a growing choir of Democratic lawmakers, donors and strategists losing faith in Biden’s ability to wage a successful campaign against Trump. Reps. Lloyd Doggett, D-Tx. Raúl Grijalva, D-Ariz. and Seth Moulton, D-Mass. have also publicly called on Biden to step down.
“The president is rightfully proud of his record,” said David Axelrod, who served as a senior advisor to former President Barack Obama, after the ABC News interview aired. “But he is dangerously out-of-touch with the concerns people have about his [capacities] moving forward and his standing in this race.”
Earlier this week, former Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Rep. Jim Clyburn, D-S.C., some of Biden’s closest allies, publicly validated concerns about Biden’s fitness for reelection. Pelosi, for example, said it was “legitimate” to ask whether Biden’s debate performance was simply a one-off episode or representative of a more long-term condition.
Both Pelosi and Clyburn noted that they still support the president as he vies for a second term.
Jeffries meeting Sunday
On Wednesday, Biden held a host of calls and meetings, including with Pelosi, Clyburn and a gathering of Democratic governors to try and reassure his concerned supporters.
While the list of Democrats stepping forward with their qualms about Biden grows, much of the panic is playing out behind closed doors.
Several Democratic lawmakers and their staff spoke to NBC News anonymously Friday night and Saturday morning, doubling down on their concerns about Biden even after the ABC News interview.
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., is working to organize a Sunday virtual meeting of Democratic committee ranking members where Biden will likely be a topic of discussion, NBC News reported.
On the other side of Capitol Hill, Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., is trying to convene a meeting of Democratic senators next week to talk about Biden’s…
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