As President Joe Biden battles to remain in the race for the White House, a key Hudson Valley Congressman has joined a growing number of Democrats asking Biden to step aside.
New York Representative Pat Ryan has won two razor-thin Congressional elections. He became one of the first members of Congress to call on Biden to pass the torch, describing it as an agonizing decision in a WAMC interview.
“We owe him a debt of gratitude.” Ryan said. “And as someone who I think is a patriot and a person of great integrity, I believe he needs to understand really, for the good of our country that stepping aside in the upcoming election would be a delivery of the promise he made to be this bridge to a new generation of leaders. So I'm really hoping he'll listen. And it's not just to me, but it's to a lot of people I've talked to in the district who really want a leader that will put country over party.”
Biden tried to use Thursday’s primetime press conference at the NATO summit to allay fears that he is no longer suited to the campaign and the Oval Office. He was asked if he will reconsider his decision to stay in.
“No, unless they came back and said there’s no way you can win: me,” he said. “No one’s saying that. No poll says that.”
An NPR-PBS-Marist College poll Friday showed Biden leading former President Donald Trump 50 to 48 percent among registered voters nationally but nearly two-thirds of Americans — including 38 percent of Democrats — do not think Biden has the mental fitness to serve, a feeling shared by two-thirds of independents. Trump’s numbers on that question are split evenly. A majority of Americans, 56 percent, said they do not think Trump has the character to be president, but 6-in-10 expect him to win in November.
Amy Walter is publisher of the non-profit Cook Political Report, which recently changedsome key swing state ratings away from Biden and Democrats.
“Biden’s number has dropped,” Walter said, “while Trump’s number has gone up maybe a point or two or stayed flat. In other words, it seems like the real question is have we seen Donald Trump move past his ceiling in those states or are we just seeing a lot of voters right now who, maybe they voted in 2020 for Biden but they’re sitting on the fence right now.”
At the same time, many top officials are sticking with Biden. In a split with her lieutenant governor, former Congressman Antonio Delgado, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said she was reassured that Biden should remain Democrats’ pick after a White House meeting on the heels of the president’s much-criticized debate with Trump.
New York U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, who will be on the November ballot herself, echoed that Friday in Endicott.
“In the debate, President Biden certainly had missteps but Trump lied for 90 minutes in that debate,” she said. “And when I contrast the two, President Biden has spent his life serving others, making a difference, helping people, he’s gotten more done in his 3.5 years as president than I think anybody.”
But for Ryan and other swing district candidates, worry is growing that Biden could lose this rematch and take down ballot hopefuls with him.
“The concern is just that whoever runs against Trump has to be able to forcefully, compellingly, from their heart and soul and with precision and specificity and emotion, make the case against Trump and for a positive vision,” he said. “And that is my concern, that the president just hasn't been able to do that.”
The Republican National Convention begins Monday in Milwaukee.
