Democratic lawmaker doubts Biden would finish a second term
Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said Wednesday he does not think President Biden would finish out a second term, just days after he publicly called on the president to withdraw from the 2024 race.
“I think right now, as I said, he’s more than capable of doing the job,” Smith said on NewsNation’s “The Hill.” “If you ask my honest opinion given his health, do I think he can serve out the full four years, no. I really don’t.”
“I don’t know. I’m not a doctor; I’m not measuring that. But we have a process in place for dealing with that,” he added.
Smith’s remarks come as some Democrats are increasingly expressing concerns over Biden’s ability to defeat former President Trump in November and carry out a second term, given his disastrous debate performance two weeks ago.
The Washington Democrat said a “strong consensus” emerged in the past day that Democrats will “lose badly” if Biden is at the top of the ticket.
Later clarifying his statement, Smith said, “I’m not going to make any bold prediction about … he will win, he will lose.”
“What I’m going to say and what is absolutely obvious is we have a much better chance to win certainly at the presidential level, and I would submit all the way down the ballot, with a different candidate,” he added.
Smith said he would hope Biden chooses to drop out in time for the Democratic Party to pick a new candidate during the convention in August.
Smith, on Monday, became the most senior Democratic lawmaker to publicly call on Biden to drop out of the race, stating it is now “clear that he’s not the best person to carry the Democratic message.”
He said he would recommend Vice President Harris to replace Biden on the ticket, calling her “an incredibly strong and effective speaker.”
Seven other Democratic lawmakers have explicitly made the same call, including Reps. Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), Seth Moulton (Mass.), Mike Quigley (Ill.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Mikie Sherrill (N.J.) and Pat Ryan (N.Y.).
At least four senior House Democrats also said Biden should step aside in a private call Sunday, although one of the four, Rep. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.), on Tuesday publicly backed Biden.
Democrats held a closed-door meeting Tuesday to discuss Biden’s political future, where many party members maintained they are sticking with Biden.
Emerging from the meeting — which lasted roughly two hours — Democrats indicated the debate was lopsided in favor of keeping Biden on the ticket. The support suggested Biden may have prevented individual detractors from setting the narrative, at least for now.
Biden has rejected calls to drop out and insists he is staying in the race. He urged congressional Democrats in a letter Monday to unite behind his candidacy.
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Updated at 7:20 p.m. EDT
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