(CTN News) – President Joe Biden said on Sunday that he will not be running for president in 2024. Following this declaration, several Republicans swiftly demanded that Biden step down and vacate the White House.
Republican leaders hailed Mr. Biden’s decision to resign as confirmation of their belief that he was not mentally fit to be president. The Democrat has struggled with this belief ever since his terrible debate last month.
Mike Johnson, the most influential Republican in Congress, said, “If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president.”
“He ought to quit his position right now. “November 5th, Election Day, cannot come soon enough,” he said.
In his announcement of his resignation, Mr. Biden said he would continue to serve as president until the conclusion of his term in January.
“He looks forward to finishing his term and delivering more historic results for the American people,” the White House said in a statement a few hours later on Sunday, reiterating his refusal to step down.
Prominent Republicans continued to criticize Vice-President Kamala Harris, who would take over the Oval Office if Mr. Biden resigned, and offered similar demands for resignation throughout Sunday afternoon. She has Mr. Biden’s support to become the next Democratic nominee.
Regarding Mr. Biden’s capacity to carry out his presidential duties, Republican conference chair Representative Elise Stefanik of New York said much the same thing as Mr. Johnson.
Similarly, she concluded her remarks, by saying, “He must resign immediately.”
In reaction to the news, Mr. Biden’s presidential opponent, Donald Trump, said that the Democratic leader was “not fit to serve from the very beginning,” but he refrained from calling for the president’s resignation.
The head of the Senate Republicans’ campaign committee, Senator Steve Daines of Montana, said that becoming president “is the hardest job in the world.”. He stated in a statement, “And I no longer have confidence that Joe Biden can effectively execute his duties as Commander-in-Chief.”
Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, went a step further and seemed to propose that Mr. Biden be removed from office via the use of the US Constitution’s 25th Amendment, which provides a never-used means of replacing the president if he is unable to carry out his responsibilities.
Trump’s detractors demanded that the amendment be used to remove him from office while he was in office.
Many in the political community had anticipated that Mr. Biden would withdraw from the contest.
In the June 27 debate with Trump, he gave long, sometimes nonsensical responses that shocked the nation and made many question if he could continue as president for another four years. While Mr. Biden often displayed a newfound sense of energy in speeches and interviews, he was also plagued by significant blunders and apparent memory issues.
Democrats in Congress started pushing for him to withdraw, but they did not push for his resignation because they were concerned that his uncertainty would harm their prospects of winning reelection.
Lyndon B. Johnson was the last president to drop out of the race and finish his term as well. Johnson, like Mr. Biden, had said that he would be able to concentrate on his responsibilities as president if he were to concede the race.
Republicans began to voice their desire for Biden to step down more openly as the heat on him has increased in recent weeks. Sen. JD Vance of Ohio, Trump’s new running mate, said the following only hours before the president announced his resignation: “Not running for reelection would be a clear acknowledgment that President Trump was correct all along about Biden not being mentally competent enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief.
There isn’t a compromise.” “Joe Biden has been the worst president in my lifetime, and Kamala Harris has been right there with him every step of the way,” he said.
Biden: Republicans target Kamala Harris with their attacks
Ms. Harris has received Mr. Biden’s endorsement to lead the presidential campaign; but, the party must still legally ratify its choice. In a statement, Ms. Harris stated, “I am honored to have the President’s endorsement, and I intend to earn and win this nomination.” “I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda.”
Republicans are allegedly ready to launch an assault on Ms. Harris’s candidacy since many thought she would be the most probable replacement. According to insiders close to the Trump team, US media outlets were preparing opposition research and attack commercials in case they were confronted by her.
The vice president has received the most criticism for taking the lead on immigration-related matters inside the administration. Last week, during the Republican convention, Ms. Harris was characterized by several speakers as a failure as a “border czar.”. On Sunday, those assaults happened again.
Speaker Johnson referred to her as “a gleeful accomplice” in “the destruction of American sovereignty, security, and prosperity” and referred to her as “a completely inept border czar.”. He said, “She has known for as long as anyone of his incapacity to serve,” and accused her of participating in a political dramatization of Mr. Biden’s issues.
Known for adopting a strict stance on immigration that has sparked legal lawsuits, Republican Texas Governor Greg Abbott also voiced reservations about Ms. Harris winning the presidency.
“I think I will need to triple the border wall, razor wire barriers, and the National Guard on the border,” he said on social media. The son of the previous president, Donald Trump Jr., said in general that her ideas would be the same as those of Mr. Biden.
“Joe Biden’s whole left-wing policy record belongs to Kamala Harris. He said on X, previously Twitter, “The only difference is that she is even more liberal and less competent than Joe, which is saying something.”
Source: BBC News
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