If the US president is not well enough to campaign, he is not fit to lead the country, they charge.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
Senior Republicans, led by vice presidential hopeful J.D. Vance, began calling for President Joe Biden to resign almost immediately after he announced that he was dropping his re-election bid Sunday.
“If Joe Biden ends his reelection campaign, how can he justify remaining President?” Vance wrote on X.
“Not running for reelection would be a clear admission that President Trump was right all along about Biden not being mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief. There is no middle ground,” he added.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) echoed his words, stating, “If Joe Biden is not fit to run for President, he is not fit to serve as President. He must resign the office immediately. November 5 cannot arrive soon enough.”
Senator Steve Daines (R-Mon.), who heads the party’s campaign arm in the top legislative body, framed his own request as being for the good of the country.
“Being President is the hardest job in the world,” he explained in his own tweet, “and i no longer have confidence that Joe Biden can effectively execute his duties as Commander-in-Chief. It is out of concern for our country’s national security that I am formally calling on President Biden to resign from office.”
The national security angle was sharpened by House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, (R-Min.), who said, “If the Democrat party has deemed Joe Biden unfit to run for re-election, he’s certainly unfit to control our nuclear codes.”
Biden withdrew from the race after facing mounting pressure from many top members of his party who were concerned that his poor showing both when debating Donald Trump, and in subsequent interviews would lead to an overwhelming Republican victory at the polls in November.
He subsequently endorsed his vice president, Kamala Harris, for the nomination, and according to the Washington Post, by Monday 30 of the 47 Democratic senators and Independents who usually vote with them, had followed suit.
An even larger percentage (72%) of Congressional members of the party backed Harris as well, with 137 of its 188 Representatives throwing their support to her.
The list importantly includes some large donors, including the well-known anti-Israel far leftist George Soros.
Harris has also been endorsed by many state governors, some of whom are considered frontrunners to become her running mate, as well as former President Bill Clinton and Hillary Clinton.
There are other Democrats who doubt her ability to beat Trump, however, or at least want to see democracy in action first.
Some have called for some kind of mini-primary before the Democratic convention next month, or an open convention where the delegates will decide who should be the party’s nominee.
Two prominent names that were conspicuous by their absence from those immediately approving of Harris were Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, both of New York.
According to two sources cited by CNN, the reason is that the two do not want to be seen as forcing Harris on the public too quickly.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a powerhouse in the party, has yet to speak her mind on the subject. Former president Barack Obama has also not publicly stated a preference as of now.