The first Democratic member of Congress to do so was Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, who praised Biden’s record of accomplishments but said an “authoritarian takeover” would come if former President Donald Trump won.
“Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory — too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now,” Doggett said. He later said on NBC that some of his House colleagues privately agreed with him.
On Wednesday, Doggett was joined by Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona, who told the New York Times that the debate represented an “opportunity to look elsewhere.”
“What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race,” said Grijalva.
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Both men are in their mid-to-late 70s and represent solidly Democratic seats.
On Thursday, Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts joined them, telling a local radio affiliate that Biden should “step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump.”
And on Friday, shortly before Biden’s interview with ABC News was set to air, Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois said on MSBNC that Biden should “let someone else do this.”
BREAKING: Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) calls on Biden to exit the race:
“Mr. President, your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else… pic.twitter.com/tnWOxja5lF
— All In with Chris Hayes (@allinwithchris) July 5, 2024
Separately, two members of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition — Reps. Jared Golden of Maine and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington — said that they believe Biden will lose to Trump.
Golden went as far as to say that he is “OK” with Trump winning, saying he rejects the idea that Trump is a “unique threat to our democracy.”
Democratic politicians who don’t hold elected office have also called on Biden to step aside.
Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro, one of Biden’s competitors in 2020, said that Biden needed to “allow a stronger Democratic candidate to prevent a disastrous second Trump term.
Another 2020 Biden competitor, former Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio, published an op-ed on Tuesday calling for Biden to be replaced with Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris is one of several Democratic contenders who could replace Biden if he stepped aside.