U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., is the latest member of Congress calling on President Joe Biden to halt his bid for reelection.
With Craig, at least four U.S. representatives have asked Biden to step down following the president’s disastrous performance in a June 27 debate with Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
“Given what I saw and heard from the President during last week’s debate in Atlanta,” Craig said in a statement Saturday, “coupled with the lack of a forceful response from the President himself following that debate, I do not believe that the President can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump.”
In an interview with ABC News broadcast Friday, the 81-year-old Biden fended off criticisms of his mental acuity and said he was fit for another term of as president. He described his debate performance as a “bad episode.”
At times, Biden rambled during the Friday interview with George Stephanopoulus, which ABC said aired in full and without edits, the Associated Press reported.
Craig, who represents the southern Twin Cities area and parts of southern Minnesota in the Second District, said she has “great respect” for Biden’s decades of service and “his steadfast commitment to making our country a better place.”
But Craig said that “there is simply too much at stake to risk a second Donald Trump presidency” and that Biden should step aside to “allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward.”
Craig’s message Saturday countered Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s declaration last week that Democratic governors continue to support Biden. Walz led a delegation of more than 20 governors in joining Biden at the White House on Wednesday.
“The governors have his back,” Walz said after the meeting.
Minnesota congressman Dean Phillips, who unsuccessfully ran against Biden in the Democratic primaries this year, had criticized the president for running again due to his age.