Schumer Discouraged Biden From Continuing Reelection Bid: ‘I Wouldn’t Run’

Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) knew what he had to say, but that didn’t mean he took joy in saying it. That message was to tell President Joe Biden that he should abandon his plans to stay in the White…

Sandra RhodesJan 17, 20253 min read

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Per the outlet, Schumer had been concerned “for months” Biden would lose to Trump. A Biden loss could cost Democrats control of the Senate and a chance of winning back the House.

Before then, Schumer stood by Biden and vouched for his mental acuity.

On Feb. 13, Schumer told reporters any concerns regarding Biden’s physical and mental condition were “right-wing propaganda.”

“I talk to President Biden, you know, regularly, sometimes several times in a week, or usually several times in a week. His mental acuity is great. It’s fine. It’s as good as it’s been over the years,” Schumer said in mid-February.

NBC’s Kristen Welker recently asked Schumer whether he “and other top Democrats misled” Americans about Biden’s “mental acuity.”

“Look, we didn’t,” Schumer said as he defended Biden’s record.

“The legislation we passed, one of the most significant groups of legislation since Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society,” Schumer said, referring to Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act.

Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the ranking member of the Senate Finance Committee, confirmed Schumer acted on behalf of the majority of Senate Democrats when he asked for Biden to drop out of the race.

“First of all, Chuck Schumer and Joe Biden have a long relationship. Chuck was a credible and persuasive connection because they go back to the years working on Judiciary Committee issues,” Wyden said. “That was a real common bond for them, so I think that was the right move for Senate Democrats to reach out through Senator Schumer.”

Wyden said Schumer was “the person” to tell Biden not to run.

“Certainly, Senator Schumer talks to all of us. The big joke is he knows all of our phone numbers by heart. So yes, there was no question that he was going to do this. He was the person to do it. Those years of working together … made him a good fit for it,” Wyden said.