Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) appears on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, July 7, 2024, in Washington, DC.
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Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on Wednesday urged President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential election race.
Schiff said in a statement that he had “serious concerns about the president's ability to defeat Donald Trump in November.”
“While the choice to withdraw from the race is President Biden's alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch,” said Schiff, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate seat from California who is the favorite to win in November.
“Doing so will allow us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election and thereby secure his leadership,” Schiff said.
Schiff was one of the most prominent Democrats to call on Biden to drop out of the race after the president's poor performance in a debate with Republican nominee Trump in late June.
Since that debate, Biden has been adamant that he will not withdraw, despite concerns that his mental acuity has deteriorated during his three years in the White House.
CNBC has asked the Biden campaign to comment on Schiff's statement.
Schiff said in a statement that Biden “is one of the most important presidents in our country's history” and that the president “has changed our country for the better during his lifetime as a senator, vice president and now president.”
“But our country is at a crossroads,” Schiff said. “A second term as President Trump will undermine the foundation of our democracy, and I am deeply concerned about the President's ability to defeat Donald Trump in November.”
The congressman added, “But make no mistake, whoever our party ultimately nominates, or if the nomination remains with the president, I will do everything in my power to help them succeed.”
“There is only one goal: defeat Donald Trump,” he said. “The stakes are too high.”
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