Representative Raúl M. Grijalva, a progressive Democrat from Arizona, on Wednesday became the second Democrat in the House of Representatives to publicly call on President Biden to withdraw from the race, citing the “precarious” state of the president’s campaign.
“What he has to do is take responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race,” Grijalva, 76, said in an interview with The New York Times.
His comments came a day after Representative Lloyd Doggett, a 77-year-old progressive Democrat from Texas, called on Mr. Biden to withdraw. Both men are about the same age as Mr. Biden, 81, whose halting debate performance on Thursday rekindled questions about his age and sharpness.
Mr. Grijalva questioned whether Mr. Biden could defeat former President Donald J. Trump and said Democrats “had to put up a fight.” Mr. Grijalva, who diagnosed with cancer in March, stressed that he believed Biden was a “good person” and that he would support the president if he remained in the race.
But that decision should be based on the stakes of the race, said Mr. Grijalva, who described the possibility of a second Trump presidency as “very, very dangerous” and characterized the former president as an “anti-democratic, authoritarian despot.”
Biden’s campaign declined to comment on Mr Grijalva’s remarks. But earlier on Wednesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a regularly scheduled news conference that the president was “absolutely not” considering withdrawing.
Grijalva’s warning came shortly after the release of a poll by The New York Times and Siena College showing Trump ahead of Biden by six points, up three points from a week earlier.
Many House Democrats have privately wrestled in recent days with how to position themselves in Biden’s struggling campaign, with some choosing to remain silent. Several, including Rep. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, have publicly voiced support for Biden staying in the race.
Mr Grijalva did not say who he would choose to succeed Mr Biden, but he mentioned Vice President Kamala Harris as a possibility.
“We have to win this race, and we have to keep the House and the Senate,” said Mr Grijalva, who argued that a victory for Mr Trump would mean that everything Democrats have done under Mr Biden “goes down the drain”.
