President Joe Biden may be hoping the Republican National Convention (RNC) will provide coverage for him from calls to drop out.
However, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the Democrat nominee for Senate in California and an ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), is not letting the RNC stop him from calling for the president to end his re-election campaign.
In a statement on Wednesday, Schiff said, “Joe Biden has been one of the most consequential presidents in our nation’s history, and his lifetime of service as a Senator, a Vice President, and now as President has made our country better.”
“But our nation is at a crossroads. A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” he continued. “While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch. And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.”
Finally, Schiff said, “But make no mistake, whoever our party ends up nominating, or if the nomination remains with the president, I will do everything I can to help them succeed. There is only one singular goal: defeating Donald Trump. The stakes are just too high.”
The statement comes a day after The New York Times reported Schiff privately warned that Democrats would lose the White House and Senate if Biden stays in the race.
“I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose,” Schiff reportedly said. “And we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House.”
Biden has refused calls to drop out, saying he would only do so if the “Lord Almighty” told him to.
However, he has softened his stance slightly, saying he would drop out if someone could convince him he would not recover politically and would lose to former President Donald Trump or if he was told he had a medical condition.
