Politics
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider Joins List of Democrats Calling on President Joe Biden to Step Aside
U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider appears on “Chicago Tonight” on Dec. 22, 2020 via Zoom. (WTTW News)
President Joe Biden should “pass the torch to a new generation of leadership,” U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider said Thursday, making him the second Democrat in Illinois’ Congressional delegation to call for the president to sit out a run for reelection.
Schneider issued his call for Biden to step aside via a media release that began with the words, “I love Joe Biden.” It included a five-bullet list of why “if the history books were to be closed today, he would unquestionably be recorded as one of our greatest presidents” before going on to call for Biden to “seal his place in history.”
“I fear if he fails to make the right choice, our democracy will hang in the balance,” wrote Schneider, whose 10th District covers many of Chicago’s northern suburbs.
Should Biden remain in the contest against Republican nominee former President Donald Trump, Democrats will be “resigned to slog through this election praying we can successfully defend our democracy,” Schneider said.
As of Thursday afternoon, 13 House Democrats have publicly announced they believe Biden should relinquish his nomination for a second term.
On Sunday, U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley was among an early handful of representatives to call on Biden to drop out.
Quigley, of Chicago, reiterated his stance Tuesday, telling reporters in Washington that if Biden stays in the contest, he will bring down Democrats down-ballot.
“He just has to step down because he can’t win and my colleagues need to recognize that,” Quigley said.
Fears among Democrats about Biden’s abilities to win voters have slowly reached a crescendo since the president faltered in a televised debate against Trump late last month. Biden, 81, lost his train of thought and appeared to have a vacant stare. Trump, 78, meandered in some of his responses, which often misrepresented the truth.
Biden has attempted to quell the calls for his retirement from future elected office, and is scheduled to hold a rare solo — and high-stakes — news conference Thursday night.
Despite the trickle of public opposition, the president has a lot of Democrats on his side, with the Congressional Black Caucus standing by him.
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker is likewise standing by Biden, telling journalists in Chicago on Tuesday that he’s “all in for Biden.”
Republicans are making hay on social media of what Pritzker said when more unguarded.
CBS News Chicago caught Pritzker on a hot microphone Wednesday saying “I don’t like where we are” in the presidential race.
Pritzker later said that the comment isn’t contrary to his public stance of support for the president.
“All I was referring to was I don’t like the polls. Joe Biden is behind a couple points nationally,” Pritzker told reporters at a downstate appearance Thursday.
“Hey, I’m funding this campaign and I’m co chair,” the governor said. “Biden has my full support until he doesn’t. Just talking about polls here….,” Pritzker wrote in a post on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.
