Second Democratic senator urges Biden to drop out of election against Trump

Montana
Democratic
Sen.
Jon
Tester
on
Thursday
night
urged
President

Joe
Biden
to

drop
out
of
the
2024
election
contest
against
former
President

Donald
Trump,
adding
to
already
intense
pressure
from
Biden’s
fellow
Democrats
to
step
aside
for
a
new
presidential
nominee.

Tester,
who
faces
a
tough
re-election
fight
in
a
state
that
Trump
won
in
the
past
two
presidential
elections,
is
the
second
U.S.
senator
to
call
on
Biden
to
quit
the
race.

Sen.
Peter
Welch,
D-Vt.,
became
the
first
senator
do
so
last
week.

Rep.
Adam
Schiff
of
California,
the
Democratic
nominee
for
a
Senate
seat
from
that
state,
on
Wednesday
asked
Biden
to
step
aside
as
the
nominee,
joining
18
other
Democrats
in
the
House
of
Representatives
who
previously
did
so.

Former
President

Barack
Obama
has
privately
expressed
concerns
to
Democrats
about
the
viability
of
Biden’s
candidacy,
both

the
Associated
Press
and

The
Washington
Post
reported.

Biden
served
two
terms
as
Obama’s
vice
president,
and
the
44th
president
still
has
unrivaled
influence
within
the
Democratic
party.

The
two
Democratic
leaders
in
Congress
—
Senate
Majority
Leader
Chuck
Schumer
and
House
Minority
Leader
Rep.
Hakeem
Jeffries,
both
of
New
York
—
have
told
Biden
in
recent
days
that
his
presence
on
the
party
ticket
could
cost
them
majorities
in
both
chambers
of
Congress.

Tester,
in
a
statement
Thursday,
said,
“Montanans
have
put
their
trust
in
me
to
do
what
is
right
and
it
is
a
responsibility
I
take
seriously.”

“I
have
worked
with
President
Biden
when
it
has
made
Montana
stronger,
and
I’ve
never
been
afraid
to
stand
up
to
him
when
he
is
wrong,”
Tester
said.
“And
while
I
appreciate
his
commitment
to
public
service
and
our
country,
I
believe
President
Biden
should
not
seek
re-election
to
another
term.”

Tester
is
seeking
a
fourth
term
in
a
contest
against
retired
Navy
SEAL
Tim
Sheehy,
the
Republican
nominee.
The
race
is
one
of
several
considered
crucial
for
Democratic
Party
efforts
to
retain
its
majority
control
of
the
Senate.

Schumer
was
notified
ahead
of
time
that
Tester
would
call
on
Biden
to
quit
the
election
contest,
a
source
with
knowledge
of
the
situation
told
NBC
News.

Schumer
then
told
Tester
to
do
whatever
he
thought
was
best,
according
to
that
source.

Biden,
who
is
isolating
at
his
beach
house
in
Rehoboth,
Delaware,
after
testing
positive
for
Covid-19
during
a
campaign
swing
through
Las
Vegas
on
Wednesday,
for
weeks
had
flatly

rejected
calls
to
step
aside
is
now
said
to
be
more
open
to
listening
to
top
Democrats
about
the
risk
of
him
remaining
in
the
race.
He
has
also
reportedly
asked
advisers
in
recent
days
whether
they
believe
his
vice
president,
Kamala
Harris,
could
beat
Trump
in
November.

“We’re
close
to
the
end,”
a
person
close
to
Biden
told

NBC
News.

The
pressure
on
the
81-year-old
Biden
stems
from
concerns
that
after
his
June
27
debate,
if
he
remains
the
nominee
he
will
not
only
cost
Democrats
the
White
House,
but
also
cost
the
party
its
majority
in
the
Senate
and
doom
its
chances
of
retaking
the
House.

Sen.
John
Hickenlooper,
D-Colo.,
told
the
Reuters
news
service
late
Wednesday
that
Biden
is
“working
towards”
a
decision
that
will
“put
the
country
first.”
Hickenlooper
did
not
explicitly
call
on
Biden
to
drop
out,
saying
that
was
“his
decision
to
make.”

“But
certainly
there’s
more
and
more
indications
that
that
would
be
in
the
best
interests
of
the
country,
I
think,”
the
senator
said.

Schiff,
who
is
considered
a
strong
favorite
to
win
his
race,
is
close
to
his
fellow
California
Democrat,
Rep.
Nancy
Pelosi,
the
former
House
speaker.

CNN
reported
Thursday
morning
that
Pelosi
told
Biden
recently
that
he
cannot
beat
Trump
and
that
he
could
doom
Democratic
chances
of
winning
a
House
majority
if
he
insists
on
remaining
in
the
race.

Sen.
Bob
Casey,
a
Pennsylvania
Democrat
who
to
date
has
fully
supported
Biden’s
plan
to
stay
in
the
race,
told
NBC
News
on
Thursday
he
had
heard
“growing
concerns”
from
voters
in
his
state
this
week.

“I’ve
talked
to
a
lot
of
people
in
our
state
that
have
concerns
ever
since
the
debate,”
Casey
said.
“But
I
think
my
position
has
been
very
clear,
and
I
think
I
think
the
president
will
do
what
he’s
always
done,
which
is
put
the
best
interests
of
the
country
first.”

The
Biden
campaign’s
public
response
to
growing
concerns
has
not
changed,
and
top
staffers
remain
dead-set
against
the
president
dropping
out.

“Our
campaign
is
not
working
through
any
scenarios
where
President
Biden
is
not
the
top
of
the
ticket,”
Quentin
Fulks,
principal
deputy
campaign
manager
told
reporters
in
Milwaukee
on
Thursday.

“He
is
and
will
be
the
Democratic
nominee,”
said
Fulks.

Later
Thursday,
a
source
close
to
Biden
pushed
back
at
the
top
Democrats
pressuring
for
the
president
to
bow
out.

“Can
we
all
just
remember
for
a
minute
that
these
same
people
who
are
trying
to
push
Joe
Biden
out
are
the
same
people
who
literally
gave
us
all
Donald
Trump?”
the
source
told
NBC
News.

“In
2015,
Obama,
Pelosi,
Schumer
pushed
Biden
aside
in
favor
of
Hillary;
they
were
wrong
then
and
they
are
wrong
now,”
the
source
said.

That
source
also
noted
how
polls
in
2016
showed
the
Democratic
Party’s
presidential
nominee
Hillary
Clinton
leading
Trump
by
as
much
as
9
percentage
points.

“How
did
all
this
work
out
for
everyone
in
2016?”
the
source
said,
referring
to
Trump’s
victory
that
year.

“Perhaps
we
should
learn
a
few
lessons
from
2016;
one
of
them
is
polls
are
BS,
just
ask
Sec.
Clinton.
And
two,
maybe,
just
maybe,
Joe
Biden
is
more
in
touch
with
actual
Americans
than
Obama-Pelosi-Schumer?”
the
source
added.