Political commentator Sue O’Connell looks at what’s going on behind the scenes as the number of lawmakers urging President Joe Biden to step aside continues to increase.
Congressman Seth Moulton reiterated his call for President Joe Biden to drop out of the presidential race with anecdotes from their relationship.
The Democrat representing Massachusetts' Sixth District said earlier this month in an interview with WBUR that Biden should step aside in the election against former President Donald Trump. NBC News reports that he was the third Congressional member of his party to make such a public statement, but more than 30 other lawmakers have followed.
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Writing in the Boston Globe Friday, Moulton said the president had "earned an amazing legacy," and that giving up his power could serve to solidify it.
The representative describes in the piece how Biden has supported him in his own political career dating back to 2014, calling the president a mentor and friend. But fast forward to 2024, and he describes how the president could not recognize him during an event at Normandy for the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
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"Of course, that can happen as anyone ages, but as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem," Moulton wrote.
He then lays out why he believes it's time for Biden to step aside, driving home the point that Democrats must rally to beat Trump.
"We have a choice to make. To my colleagues who are deeply concerned but who haven’t said so publicly: Let’s demonstrate the courageous, forward-looking leadership that Americans tell us they want in their politics and rob the Trump-Vance ticket of the opponent they want," he wrote.
U.S. Senator Maggie Hassan, D-New Hampshire, weighed in Thursday, making the same point about the need to defeat Trump, but taking the opposite stance from Moulton.
"We understand what the stakes are in this election. That's the agenda that we need to pursue, that's why I continue to believe that reelecting Joe Biden is the best way to protect our democracy, protect the individual rights of all Americans, and that it's a sharp contrast to what the Republicans have to offer," Hassan said.
Biden's campaign insisted in a memo released Friday that he will not drop out of the race. However, sources tell NBC News that his family has discussed possible exit strategies. Friday alone, 13 more Congressional Democrats publicly called on Biden to step aside.
State lawmakers in Massachusetts have also joined that chorus, with seven senators on Beacon Hill writing a letter calling for Biden to pass the torch Thursday night before Trump spoke at the Republican National Convention.
"Selecting a new Democratic presidential nominee will inject badly needed excitement and grassroots energy into the party and its voters, especially young people," wrote the group, which included Sens. Jo Comerford of Northampton, Jamie Eldridge of Marlborough, Paul Feeney of Foxborough, Pat Jehlen of Somerville, John Keenan of Quincy, Jason Lewis of Winchester, and Michael Moore of Millbury.
Information from State House News Service was used in this report
