Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) accused President Joe Biden‘s campaign of being “arrogant” with its handling of the fallout from the first 2024 presidential debate, leaving the door open to supporting someone other than the president at the Democratic National Convention in August.
The San Diego congressman joins a small but growing number of Democratic lawmakers openly voicing concerns about the president’s viability as a candidate or outright calling for his replacement atop the 2024 ticket.
During a Wednesday night interview with a local CBS affiliate station, Peters said that he greatly admires Biden but, based on the debate, couldn’t fully commit to backing him as the nominee.
“The question just now is, is this a candidate who can win the election because, as much as I love Joe Biden, in those swing states, he’s having a hard time,” he stated. “We needed a boost from Thursday. We didn’t get it, and the campaign has been very, I think, arrogant in their response. We want to know what their plan is to win this election and turn these numbers around. If they don’t have a plan, then I think we have to move in a different direction.”
“I don’t think we can at this point,” Peters continued when asked to clarify whether or not he still supports Biden ahead of November. “The point is to win the election. This is seven to 10 states that this is going to be decided in where Joe Biden is trailing. We need a plan to win those states. If Joe Biden’s got that plan, I want to hear about it ASAP.”
So far, only two sitting Democratic lawmakers have fully called for Biden to drop out of the race.
“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,” Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) said in a statement on Tuesday. “I respectfully call on him to do so.”
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“If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere,” Rep. Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) told the New York Times on Wednesday. “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.”
