Senator Joe Manchin (IW.Va.) on Sunday became the fifth senator to call on President Biden to drop out of the presidential race, urging the president to be a “unified man” and “pass the torch” to another Democratic candidate.
“It is with a heavy heart that I have come to the decision that I believe it is time to pass the torch to a new generation,” Manchin told CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday on “State of the Union.”
“I want him to do what he can do in the last five months of his term as president: unite our country, calm the rhetoric and focus attention on world peace,” Manchin said.
“Campaigning – I’ve been on national campaigns many times – is incredibly challenging for everyone, physically, mentally, in every way. And right now, the country and the world needs our President Joe Biden, but he needs to put all his strength and energy into having the compassion he’s always had and the ability to bring people together.”
Manchin also appeared on ABC’s “This Week” and told Martha Raddatz that he was concerned about Biden’s ability to run a comprehensive re-election campaign despite confidence in his leadership abilities.
“I think he has that ability,” Manchin told ABC. “You know, that’s the total performance of a campaign … it’s incredible. I can tell you that in a statewide campaign, it’s relentless. I can only imagine it in a national campaign.”
The former Democratwho left the party in May, also called for an “open process” in the coming weeks to select a successor.
“I think we have a lot of talent on the bench, a lot of good people,” Manchin told CNN, adding that his favorites include Governors Andy Beshear (Democrat, Kentucky) and Josh Shapiro (Democrat, Pennsylvania).
“I have two great governors right next to me, Andy Beshear in Kentucky and Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, who are serving with legislators who are either evenly split or have completely opposite party affiliations,” he said. “They didn’t divide their state. They didn’t force you to pick one side and demonize the other side. They brought people together. That’s what an open process would do.”
The senator said an open process and the selection of a younger candidate could encourage voters who have become skeptical of established Democrats to return to the party.
“You have to win me back,” he added.
Senators Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and Martin Heinrich (DN.M.) as well as numerous members of the House of Representatives also called on Biden to drop out of the race.
However, Biden and his campaign team insisted that the president would be the Democratic candidate, despite the Increasing demands from members the party that he should resign.
“Joe Biden has made it abundantly clear: He is in the race and he is in it to win. Moreover, he is the presumptive nominee; there is no plan for an alternate candidate,” wrote Dan Kanninen, Biden’s campaign manager for the battleground states. in a published memo after the Republican National Convention.
Vice President Harris is considered the favorite to oust Biden, a decision that expected to be reached this week.
The Biden team reiterated the president’s commitment to the election campaign in a statement to The Hill on Sunday.
“While the majority of the Democratic caucus and the party’s diverse base continue to stand behind the president and his historic achievement for their communities, we recognize that the urgency and commitment to defeating Donald Trump causes others to think differently,” said spokeswoman Mia Ehrenberg. “Unlike Republicans, we are a party that accepts – and even celebrates – different opinions, but in the end, we will absolutely come together to defeat Donald Trump in November.”
The story was updated at 10:53 a.m. ET.
