(Washington) Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat turned independent, urged President Joe Biden on Sunday to abandon his re-election bid and focus on the final months of his presidency.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have made the decision to pass the torch to a new generation,” the West Virginia lawmaker said on the show. State of the Union on CNN.
Nearly three dozen Democrats in Congress have said it is time for Mr. Biden to leave the race. Four Democratic senators — Peter Welch (Vermont), Jon Tester (Montana), Martin Heinrich (New Mexico) and Sherrod Brown (Ohio) — have said the Democratic president should abandon his re-election campaign against Republican Donald Trump.
Joe Biden’s debate performance raised open questions about the 81-year-old’s ability to mount a convincing campaign to defeat Donald Trump.
“I’m concerned about the health and well-being of the president, I really am,” Manchin said on the show. This week from ABC channel.
PHOTO SUSAN WALSH, ARCHIES ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. President Joe Biden walks to his car at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, after testing positive for COVID-19, July 17, 2024.
As the president remains isolated at his Delaware beach house after testing positive for COVID-19, he said he was ready to return to the campaign trail this week and counter the “dark vision” Trump has outlined. Mr. Biden has insisted he can beat Mr. Trump and has met with his family and longtime aides to resist efforts to sideline him.
Still, Mr. Manchin said Mr. Biden should lead the way for other Democrats and spend the rest of his term as “the president he always wanted to be, who can unite the country, bring the country together, devote his time to solving the problems of Gaza, bring peace to Gaza and the Middle East. He can also devote his time to strengthening Ukraine’s ability to defend and win its freedom, and then show the rest of the world the orderly transfer of power of the world’s superpower.”
He also said, “I really believe the Democratic Party needs an open process” to choose a new nominee. Manchin made clear he was not trying to replace Kamala Harris, the vice president. “Healthy competition is what this is about,” Manchin said.
But the Democratic National Committee’s rules-making body is moving forward with plans to hold a virtual roll call before Aug. 7 to nominate the presidential nominee, ahead of the party’s convention in Chicago later this month.
Manchin, who became an independent in May after years as a Democrat, is not seeking re-election to the Senate.