Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett Calls on Biden to Withdraw

Facts

• Congressman Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) on Tuesday called on Pres. Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race, citing his performance in last week's presidential debate.¹
• Doggett — the first sitting House Democrat to publicly ask the president to drop his re-election bid — requested Biden make the 'painful' decision and allow the new generation to defeat Donald Trump.²
• This comes after a CBS/YouGov poll found that 72% of registered voters surveyed thought Biden, 81, wasn't mentally or cognitively fit to be president, compared to 49% for the 78-year-old Trump.³
• Though he defended Biden's record as president, Doggett said that the debate didn't provide any momentum for his campaign, which trails Trump in most polls.⁴
• Many Democrats, including former Pres. Barack Obama and Vice Pres. Kamala Harris, have supported Biden post-debate. His family has also reportedly privately encouraged him to remain in the race.³

Sources: ¹Associated Press, ²CNN, ³BBC News and ⁴The Hill.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Atlantic. The knee-jerk reaction among party elites to remove Biden after the poor debate performance is wrong-headed. Biden has had a very successful presidency, and it would be a self-inflicted wound to rob the Democrats of the incumbency advantage against Trump. Biden has beaten Trump before — he's their best chance to defeat him again. Democrats need to project confidence with Biden at the helm.
• Republican narrative, as provided by FOX News. The liberal media has finally admitted that the emperor has no clothes, as Biden's cognitive decline was put on display for the world to see. Democrats are now slowly realizing that Biden isn't mentally fit to be president, something they have downplayed to the public for over four years. The American public realizes there's a serious issue, and Donald Trump is rightly surging in the polls.
• Narrative C, as provided by New York Times. Pres. Biden is a decent man who served honorably throughout his storied political career. It's time for him to show his loyalty to his country by stepping aside to assuage the public's fears regarding his fitness. America can't afford four more years of Trump, and the Democrats need to nominate a candidate who has the best shot of winning. Biden should do the right thing and step aside as nominee.

Predictions