US Election 2024: Congressman becomes first Democratic politician to publicly defend Biden from race | US Election 2024

A Democratic congressman publicly defended the president we, Joe Bidengive up the race for the presidency of the country Tuesday (2). Lloyd Doggett, US Representative from Texas, He became the first politician in the party to speak publicly in favor of Biden’s withdrawal.Pointing out Biden’s inability in the debate to “effectively defend his many achievements.”

Biden must “make the difficult and painful decision to withdraw,” Doggett said in a statement.

“Recognizing that President Biden’s first commitment, unlike Trump’s, has always been to our country, not to himself, I hope he will make the difficult and painful decision to withdraw. I respectfully ask him to do so,” the representative said.

Doggett, who is serving his 15th term in the US Congress, went further in his stance regarding the noise that has dominated the Democratic Party since Biden’s defeat in the debate against Donald Trump last Thursday (27). Until then, party members had only spoken publicly about supporting the president, although several American vehicles reported that the top Democratic leadership was planning behind closed doors for a potential candidate to replace him in the electoral race.

Biden’s poor performance caused immediate panic even among his most ardent supporters, leading many to question whether the 81-year-old president would be the strongest Democratic candidate to take on Trump in November.

Doggett’s statement came minutes after the former House Speaker, Nancy PelosiHe, also a Democrat, told MSNBC: He believes it is a “legitimate question” whether Biden’s faltering performance is just an “episode or a case.”

“When people ask that question, it’s a legitimate question for both candidates,” Pelosi said.

Pelosi said she had not spoken to Biden since the debate, but stressed that the president is “at the peak of his powers, in terms of his knowledge of the issues and what is at stake.”

Sunday, The Democrat’s family also criticized the way Biden’s campaign team prepared. to confront them, four people close to them told the Associated Press.

Biden spent Sunday in isolation with first lady Jill Biden, his children and grandchildren. The trip was pre-scheduled for a photo shoot. With Annie Leibovitz at the upcoming Democratic National Convention.

But the family reunites It also ended up being an exercise in trying to figure out how to assuage the concerns of Democratic Party members and donors. Which exploded after Biden’s performance on Thursday (27).

Although the US President’s family was aware of how poorly he performed against Donald Trump, they still believed that Biden was the best person to defeat the Republican candidate.

Biden’s wife, children and grandchildren also believe he is capable of serving as president for another four years, people close to him told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Among the most vocal speakers at the meeting were first lady Jill Biden and Joe Biden’s son Hunter, whom the president often turns to for advice.

Both believe the president should not give up at a time when he is the target of criticism and They believe he can bounce back from what they consider to be below average performance..

Biden campaign members have already spent the days since the debate working to keep donors on board as Democrats increasingly question whether Biden should stay in the race.

Even before the debate, the age of the 81-year-old Democratic president was already an issue for voters, and the prime-time showdown seemed to reinforce deep-seated concerns in the audience ahead of the largest audience he may have in four months until Election Day.

According to CNN International, which hosted the debate, it was watched by more than 51 million people.

As the president gathered with his family, prominent Democrats gathered to show public support for his campaign on Sunday.

“I don’t think Joe Biden will have any problem leading for the next four years,” said close ally Rep. James Clyburn, a Democrat from South Carolina. “Joe Biden should continue to run on his record.”

Senator Raphael Warnock, a Democrat and Baptist from Georgia, echoed the message of other supporters that Biden had a bad debate, but he lived a life of good governance..

Warnock, like Clyburn and others, focused on Trump’s many lies during the debate — gaffes that Biden and the debate moderators often failed to fact-check on stage — including the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol by Trump supporters, immigration and the outcome of the 2020 election.