Yet another Democrat has come forward calling for President Biden to quit.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Pérez of Washington, who represents a district that voted red in 2020, is the latest member of her party to suggest that Biden will "lose" to former President Trump on the November ballot after his disastrous debate performance last week.
Pérez said the first presidential debate of 2024 was "painful" to watch, and while many Democrats maintain their support for the former president, the congresswoman admitted that she believes "Biden is going to lose to Trump."
"About 50 million Americans tuned in and watched that debate. I was one of them for about five very painful minutes. We all saw what we saw, you can't undo that, and the truth, I think, is that Biden is going to lose to Trump," the Democrat said in an interview with KATU-TV.
While the congresswoman does not believe Biden will win in 2024, she added that "a core tenet of democracy is that you accept the results of an election" and that primary voters have already chosen Biden as the Democrat nominee.
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While most Democratic representatives remained mum the first few days following the debate, more lawmakers are beginning to voice uncertainty in the president's re-election bid.
Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, made a similar statement Tuesday, saying "Democrats are panicking" over the debate performance and that "Trump is going to win."
"After the first presidential debate, lots of Democrats are panicking about whether President Joe Biden should step down as the party’s nominee," Golden wrote in an op-ed for the Bangor Daily News. "Biden’s poor performance in the debate was not a surprise. It also didn’t rattle me as it has others, because the outcome of this election has been clear to me for months: While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that."
Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first elected Democrat to officially call on his own party's nominee to step down amid doubt over the strength of Biden's candidacy.
"My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved. Recognizing that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself. I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw," Doggett said on Tuesday. "I respectfully call on him to do so."
Despite growing turmoil among members within their own party, the Democratic National Committee (DNC) is considering nominating Biden as early as mid-July.
