Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) joined the growing chorus of Democrats expressing doubts about President Joe Biden's ability to lead the party into November's election.
Biden's faltering performance at last week's debate against Donald Trump raised concerns about his age and fitness for another term, and Quigley on Tuesday joined a small but growing number of Democratic lawmakers to go on the record to state their concerns.
“We have to be honest with ourselves that it wasn’t just a horrible night,” Quigley told CNN host Kasie Hunt. “But I won’t go beyond that out of my respect and understanding for President Joe Biden, a very proud person who has served us extraordinarily for 50 years. I just want him to appreciate at this time just how much this impacts not just his race but all the other races coming in November.”
Quigley praised the president's record in his first term in office, but he agreed that the 81-year-old Biden might present a problem for Democrats running in congressional races.
"Let me put it in this perspective," Quigley said. "If I were to talk to the president of today, I would advise him that the decision he is asked to make now is clearly only his, and as much as I greatly respect him and appreciate the extraordinary job — I think his four years are one of the great presidencies of our of our lifetime.
"But I think he has to be honest with himself. This decision he's going to have to make, he clearly has to understand, I think what you're getting to hear is that his decision not only impacts who's going to serve in the White House the next four years but who's going to serve in the Senate, who's going to serve in the House, and it will have implications for decades to come."
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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) told a local news station in Providence on Monday that he was "pretty horrified by the debate," saying Biden's campaign owed some explanations about his health and fitness, while Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT) on Tuesday bashed the president's campaign team for dismissing those with concerns as "bed-wetters."
“I really do criticize the campaign for a dismissive attitude towards people who are raising questions for discussion," Welch told Semafor. "That’s just facing the reality that we’re in, but that’s the discussion we have to have. It has to be from the top levels of the Biden campaign to precinct captains in the southside of Chicago.”
Many Democrats have defended the president and waved away concerns about his health, but Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) said over the weekend that party members were having "very honest and serious and rigorous conversations” about the president's performance at the debate.
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