2024 election updates: Manchin the latest to call on Biden to end reelection bid
More Democrats called for Biden to bow out of the race.
President Joe Biden faced a critical point in his reelection bid as Democratic calls for him to exit the 2024 race continued to mount despite his efforts to shut them down.
A poor debate performance against Donald Trump in June reignited questions about Biden's age and fitness to carry out his campaign and serve another four years. While Biden defiantly insisted he was staying the course, he later announced on July 21 that he was dropping out of the 2024 presidential race.
Click here for the latest live updates on the 2024 election.
Latest headlines:
'One's a prosecutor, and the other's a felon': Biden corrects calling VP Harris 'Trump'
President Joe Biden addressed saying "Vice President Trump" instead of "Vice President Harris" at his post-NATO press conference in a post on X late Thursday night.
"By the way: Yes, I know the difference," read the post on the president's account. "One's a prosecutor, and the other's a felon."
Rep. Eric Sorensen joins chorus of Dems calling for Biden to 'step aside'
Adding to the list of Democratic representatives calling for Biden to exit the presidential race, Rep. Eric Sorensen of Illinois released a statement following the NATO press conference Thursday.
"In 2020, Joe Biden ran for President with the purpose of putting country over party. Today, I am asking him to do that again," Sorensen said.
"I am hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President," he said.
Rep. Sorensen becomes the 17th House Democrat to call for Biden to step aside and the third to do so following the NATO press conference.
Post-press conference, House Dem Rep. Scott Peters calls on Biden to step aside
Not long after the conclusion of President Joe Biden's first solo press conference in eight months, California's House Dem Rep. Scott Peters is calling for Biden to leave the race.
After praising the president for "saving us from a second term of a Trump Presidency in 2020 and for leading with his huge heart and a steady hand in challenging times," Peters said he does not believe that Biden's record would "translate into similar success in his reelection campaign."
Peters said the Democrats were already down in the polls before the debate, and Biden's performance during the event, "raised real concern among elected leaders, supporters, and voters that the President will not be able to wage a winning campaign. This was not a blip. And while the Biden campaign claims the post-debate national polls remain relatively unchanged, polling in the swing states has worsened alarmingly.
"Today I ask President Biden to withdraw from the presidential campaign," Peters continued. "The stakes are high, and we are on a losing course. My conscience requires me to speak up and put loyalty to the country and to democracy ahead of my great affection for, and loyalty to, the President and those around him."
Democratic Rep. Jim Himes calls on Biden to 'step away' after NATO press conference
Following Biden's press conference, Connecticut Democratic Rep. Jim Himes released a statement calling on Biden to "step away from the presidential campaign."
Himes serves as the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.
"The 2024 election will define the future of American democracy, and we must put forth the strongest candidate possible to confront the threat posed by Trump's MAGA authoritarianism," Himes said.