“President Biden should step down”. The dam has burst: from the Democratic Party, the first explicit and direct message to Joe Biden arrives. It is sent by Representative Lloyd Doggett, of Texas, who comes out into the open and formally asks to step down. The president, protagonist of a resounding flop in the televised debate against Donald Trump, must withdraw his candidacy for the 2024 elections.
“I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson. Under very different circumstances, Johnson made the painful decision to retire. President Biden should do the same,” Doggett said in a statement that cuts through the veil of anonymous claims and rumors.
Doggett’s note could detonate a picture that CNN describes as fibrillating. “There is a growing group of House Democrats who are concerned about the president’s candidacy,” another congressman, this time anonymous, said. “We are deeply concerned about his trajectory and his ability to win. We want to give him the space to decide, but we will make our voices heard more loudly if he doesn’t decide” to step aside.
The White House, which through a spokeswoman has dismissed the flop as a “bad night”, is said to be working on a summit between the president and Democratic governors, who intend to directly express their concerns.
CNN has had contact with dozens of officials and Democratic figures, as well as donors and long-time supporters of Biden. According to many of them, Biden should exit the scene and should announce his step down this week. The pressure has so far been frozen, waiting for an autonomous decision by the president.
Biden, however, has no intention of throwing in the towel: the president, who can count on the unconditional support of his family, will be in some key states in view of the elections over the weekend. On Friday, he should also air his interview with George Stephanopoulos, anchorman of ABC.
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