Another Democratic U.S. senator is questioning President Joe Biden’s ability to mount an ”energetic” re-election campaign in the aftermath of his poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump last month.
Senator Patty Murray of the northwestern state of Washington issued a statement Monday through her re-election campaign saying President Biden “must do more” to convince voters of the “serious threat” Trump poses to the country if the Republican ex-president wins the November elections.
Murray expressed her “deep appreciation and strong respect’ for Biden and his “historic” presidency. But she said “we need to see a much more forceful and energetic candidate on the campaign trail in the very near future in order for him to convince voters he is up to the job.”
“At this critical time for our country,” Murray said, “President Biden must seriously consider the best way to preserve his incredible legacy and secure it for the future.”
Murray’s statement echoes that of fellow Senator Mark Warner of the southern state of Virginia, who issued a statement earlier Monday saying “it is incumbent upon the President to more aggressively make his case to the American people, and to hear directly from a broader group of voices about how to best prevent Trump’s lawlessness from returning to the White House.”
A small but growing number of Democratic Party lawmakers in the House of Representatives have publicly called for the 81-year-old Biden to end his reelection campaign. Numerous others have privately voiced the same opinion since Biden, both looking and sounding exhausted, repeatedly lost his train of thought at the June 27 face-to-face confrontation with Trump.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner said in a statement Monday afternoon that another Trump term would be perilous for the rule of law and democracy.
But he went on to say that “it is incumbent upon the President to more aggressively make his case to the American people, and to hear directly from a broader group of voices about how to best prevent Trump’s lawlessness from returning to the White House.”
Both chambers of Congress have been out of session and are returning to town Monday for the first time since Biden’s poor debate performance.
Representative Adam Smith, the ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in a statement Monday, “The president’s poor performance in the debate was alarming to watch and the American people have made it clear they no longer see him as a credible candidate to serve four more years as president.”
Biden, however, has resisted calls to drop out of the race, saying that only “the Lord Almighty” could force him out.
He told Democratic lawmakers, as they returned to Washington from the July 4 Independence Day holiday, that "the question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it's time for it to end."
He said the party’s “one job” was to defeat Trump, who served as president from 2017 to early 2021 and lost the last national election to Biden four years ago.
"We have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election" on November 5, Biden said in the letter. "Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It's time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump."
Biden’s letter to congressional Democrats kicked off a crucial week for him as he tries to salvage his five-decade political career and his 2024 campaign.
Trump, set to be nominated as the Republican presidential candidate at his party’s national convention in the Midwestern city of Milwaukee next week, has pulled ahead of Biden in numerous national polls and surveys in crucial political battleground states. The contest, however, remains close and volatile, seemingly subject to the good moments and bad for both candidates.
Speculation about Biden’s cognitive health intensified after news outlets Monday said that Dr. Kevin Cannard, a doctor based at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center who specializes in treating Parkinson’s disease, a disorder of the central nervous system that affects movement, has visited the White House at least eight times since 2022, according to White House visitor logs.
The revelation of Dr. Cannard’s visits to the White House sparked an intense and often angry exchange between reporters and White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre over whether the president was being treated for Parkinson’s disease.
Late Monday night, Dr. Kevin O’Connor, Biden’s personal physician, released a statement night through Jean-Pierre confirming that Cannard had given Biden a neurological examination in each of his last three annual physicals, the last back in February, and found no evidence of Parkinson’s disease or any other neurological problems.
O’Conner explained that Cannard has held regular neurology clinics at the White House Medical Clinic “in support of the thousands of active-duty members assigned in support of White House operations.”
Biden is set to host a meeting of NATO, the West’s main military alliance, in Washington starting Tuesday and hold a rare solo news conference on Thursday.
VOA's Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.
