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by Dan Hart

With the Democratic National Convention six weeks away, an expanding number of the party’s lawmakers are calling for President Joe Biden to step down as questions continue to swirl about the commander-in-chief’s mental and physical abilities to properly fulfil the duties of the most powerful office in the world.

The Washington Post reported that nine House Democrats have called for Biden to exit the presidential race, with the latest including Reps. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.), Adam Smith (Wash.), Mark Takano (Calif.) and Joseph Morelle (N.Y.).

In addition, 18 other top Democrats have publicly raised concerns about Biden’s presidential capacities, including Reps. James Clyburn (S.C.), Nancy Pelosi (Calif.), and Adam Schiff (Calif.), Senators Chris Murphy (Conn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (R.I.), and Peter Welch (Vt.), as well as Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear and Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey.

In the coming days, the number of lawmakers within the president’s own party joining the list is expected to climb, with Senator Mark Warner (D-Va.) reportedly planning to lead a discussion on the topic after the chamber reconvened, although some reports say the meeting may not happen.

Prominent Democratic strategists are also calling for the party to look past Biden in November. James Carville penned a New York Times op-ed on Monday demanding that Barack Obama and Bill Clinton host townhall events as a precursor to electing a new presidential ticket at the Democratic National Convention. During CNN’s “State of the Union” on Sunday, political commentator Van Jones remarked,

“I think people are hoping that [Biden] will recognise we’re running Kamala Harris for president right now. That’s who we’re running.”

In Denial

In response to the deteriorating support from within his own party, Biden has remained defiant. During Monday’s “Morning Joe” on MSNBC, the president called into the show and stated,

“The bottom line here is we’re not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere.”

He then declared,

“If any of these guys don’t think I should run, run against me. Go ahead, announce for president. Challenge me at the convention.”

During a sitdown interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Biden proclaimed that only divine intervention would compel him to quit the presidential race.

“If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’d get out of the race. The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”

Meanwhile, reports continue to come to light on the controversy surrounding the White House’s effort to keep details on Biden’s health under wraps. White House physician Dr Kevin O’Connor has publicly given the president nothing but clean bills of health since the beginning of his term, declaring in February that Biden is “a healthy, active, robust 81-year-old male who remains fit to successfully execute the duties of the presidency.”

But it has since come to light that O’Connor has personal involvement with the Biden family’s business ventures, having helped to secure $600,000 for the president’s younger brother in 2017 through a deal with Americore, a rural hospital corporation. House investigators later found that $200,000 of the deal wound up in Biden’s bank account under a check labelled as a loan repayment.

In addition, after The New York Times requested official White House visitor logs, it was discovered that an “expert on Parkinson’s disease from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center visited the White House eight times in eight months from last summer through this spring, including at least once for a meeting with President Biden’s physician,” Dr Kevin O’Connor.

Grave Concerns

During the 5 July episode of This Week on the Hill, Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) reiterated his call for the president to be removed from office under the 25th Amendment due to his apparent cognitive decline.

“[A]ll of us take no great joy in recognizing what is very clear for everybody, unfortunately in the entire world now, is that our current president does not have his faculties and cannot, I think, carry out the powers and duties of the office,” he underscored.

“That is why the 25th Amendment exists. I believe it is incumbent upon us to recognize that and to pursue protection of our own country with 200 days at a minimum remaining in President Biden’s administration. He carries the nuclear codes. He makes decisions about our safety and security.

He is the commander-in-chief. He is the one negotiating with countries. He’s engaging in Ukraine and … with Russia and China [and] in the Middle East and Iran and Israel. He’s making terrible decisions about Israel right now. He is very clearly diminished.”

Roy went on to assert that former President Trump’s chances of being elected in November will likely be unaffected if Vice President Kamala Harris takes the reins as commander-in-chief.

“I think President Trump would be equally or even stronger against … Kamala Harris, even if she were to be put in place. And more importantly, we have a constitutional duty to make sure that we don’t have a president who is undermining our national security while he has no faculties there.”

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Republished with thanks to The Washington Stand. Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.