Biden again deploys teleprompter, takes no questions as Rep. Lloyd Doggett calls for him to drop out
WASHINGTON — President Biden again read carefully from teleprompters Tuesday while discussing extreme weather and took no questions on his political fate — after the first elected Democrat in Congress urged him to step aside following his disastrous Thursday debate against former President Donald Trump.
The 81-year-old president spoke for 10 minutes at Washington, DC’s local Emergency Operations Center shortly after Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) called on Biden to step aside to prevent Trump, 78, from retaking the White House.
“Extreme heat is the number one weather-related killer in the United States. More people die from extreme heat than floods, hurricanes and tornadoes combined,” Biden said after arriving about 40 minutes late to the facility.
He ignored a reporter’s question about Doggett.
Biden similarly gave a 4-1/2 minute speech Monday night and also took no press questions.
Although he largely avoided stumbles, Biden at one point misread his script to declare “the first ever White House summer [sic] on extreme heat” when he meant to say summit — drawing ridicule on social media.
He also mentioned Hurricane Beryl, the Category 5 storm in the Caribbean that’s on a projected course toward Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.
“Everyone who willfully denies the impacts of climate change is condemning the American people to a dangerous future and either is really, really dumb or has some other motive,” Biden said.
Doggett’s on-the-record call for Biden to allow Democrats to pick another nominee ahead of the Nov. 5 election followed days of party insiders saying privately that a swap was needed to prevent a potential Trump landslide victory.
Biden repeatedly appeared confused, lost his train of thought and made undecipherable remarks such as “we finally beat Medicare” during his debate with Trump — stoking panic among allies.
What to know about the calls for President Biden to drop out of the 2024 race:
- President Biden’s poor performance in the first 2024 presidential debate left some Democrats unsure of his fitness for office and future as the party’s candidate.
- More than a dozen congressional Democrats have joined in calling for Biden’s exit from the race. Former Biden supporter George Clooney echoed these calls in an op-ed published in the New York Times just weeks after he helped lead a record-breaking fundraiser for the Democrat.
- Democratic voters have continued to raise concerns about Biden’s nomination since the debate, with speculations and suggestions for replacement nominees running rampant.
- Biden’s former running mate Barack Obama has reportedly been trying to pressure him to drop out, and had prior knowledge of Clooney’s op-ed. Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi allegedly told Biden he could not beat former President Donald Trump this time around.
- As the Democratic National Convention approaches, California delegates for the Democratic Party are reportedly in disarray as debate over the president’s chances of re-election threatens to tear the party apart.
- However, the Biden campaign has denied any plans for Biden to bow out and for Kamala Harris to step in as the Democratic nominee. Sources close to the president believe he might not be willing to drop out, while other sources claim he is “receptive” to giving up on a second term.
“I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson,” Doggett said Tuesday.
“Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same.”
The Democratic National Committee currently plans to electronically nominate Biden as the party’s presidential candidate by Aug. 7 to comply with an Ohio ballot access deadline — leaving just over a month for skeptics to persuade Biden to go despite winning this year’s state primaries and caucuses.
