After Democratic Party insiders pressured Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 election, many Americans across the political spectrum began to argue that he wasn’t cognitively fit to complete the remainder of his current term in office.
From there, a handful of pundits publicly called on Biden to step down, either for the good of the country or to give Kamala Harris an opportunity to serve for a few weeks as commander-in-chief.
Among the most recent examples of this trend came in the form of a statement by prolific pollster Nate Silver.
Is there any particular reason to assume Biden is competent to be president right now? It's a very difficult job. It's a dangerous world. Extremely high-stakes decisions in Ukraine. He should resign and let Harris serve out the last 2 months.https://t.co/02huFqQT3W pic.twitter.com/ZLWqcbkAYW
— Nate Silver (@NateSilver538) November 20, 2024
As The Hill reported:
Silver’s post also featured a screenshot of a report from The Washington Post, and a link to the article. The Post reporting centered on Biden’s relationship with the press as he prepares to exit the White House. Biden, according to the Post, did not spend much of his time talking publicly during his recent visit to South America.
Biden has faced questions about his age and mental fitness throughout his presidency, but they increased especially in recent months following a rough presidential debate performance against President-elect Trump.
The questions and fears about Biden’s age and mental fitness ultimately led to him being replaced at the top of the Democratic ticket by Vice President Harris. She lost to Trump about three-and-a-half months later.
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Biden’s unwillingness or inability to engage with the press came into clear focus this week thanks to one reporter’s viral outburst:
OMG listen to this reporter screaming at Biden as he ignores her "Mr. President. President Biden. Please, we haven't heard from you all trip. Mr. President!!!!" pic.twitter.com/HH2NmTaqWY
— Miss Mary (@DivintyMary) November 19, 2024
Reporters are literally SCREAMING as they desperately try to get Biden to answer their questions.
He ignores them, ascends the short stairs, and heads back to Washington. pic.twitter.com/5HywCIKNuK
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) November 19, 2024
A reporter is literally screaming at Biden: “Mr. President, will you talk to us? Will you please talk to us?! We haven’t heard from you all trip!” pic.twitter.com/Hkfo71a2Bu
— TheBlaze (@theblaze) November 19, 2024
Earlier this month, former Harris aide Jamal Simmons similarly called on Biden to step down, as Politico reported:
“He could resign the presidency in the next 30 days, make Kamala Harris the president of the United States. He could absolve her from having to oversee the January 6 transition of her own defeat.”
The statement was in response to what the most important thing everyone is looking for during the last two months of the Biden-Harris administration. The panel consisted of Simmons — who is also the creator and co-host of the podcast, “TrailBlaze” — political strategist Scott Jennings, Obama campaign staffer Ashley Allison and conservative journalist Brad Todd.
“It would dominate the news at a point where Democrats have to learn drama and transparency and doing things in the public we want to see. This is the moment for us to change the perspective of how Democrats operate,” Simmons said.
Here’s some additional coverage of his remarks:
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