What has U.S. Rep. Adam Smith said about Biden staying in the 2024 presidential race?

President Joe Biden has made it clear that he plans on staying in the 2024 presidential race saying on Monday during a telephone interview on Morning Joe, “if any of these guys don’t think I should run, run against me… Challenge me at the convention.” That came in response to growing calls for him to step aside after his poor debate performance against Donald Trump at the first debate between the two current contenders for the White House.

Since US Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first Democrat lawmaker to go public urging Biden to drop out of the race last week, five of his colleagues in the House have done the same. The latest was US Rep. Adam Smith of Washington, the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.

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What has U.S. Rep. Adam Smith said about Biden staying in the 2024 presidential race?

“Any candidate for the highest office in our nation has a strong burden to bear. That candidate must be able to clearly, articulately, and strongly make his or her case to the American people. It is clear that President Biden is no longer able to meet this burden,” Rep. Smith said in a statement. “Donald Trump and MAGA extremism pose an existential threat to our nation, and we need to be in the strongest possible position to win in this election.”

“President Biden should end his candidacy for a second term as President and release his delegates to the Democratic National Convention to enable the party to nominate a new candidate for President,” his statement read. “This must happen as soon as possible to give the new ticket the maximum amount of time to make its case to the American people.”

Smith praised Biden for his “outstanding job as President” and that the nation owes him “an enormous debt of gratitude.” However, he says that “no candidate is owed another term in office based solely on past performance” and that “every  new term must be earned with the clear understanding of what that candidate will be capable of doing in the term to come.”

The congressman feels that “it would be a mistake” for Biden to continue his campaign. “He should step aside now so that we can find a new candidate that will put us in the strongest possible position to beat Donald Trump in November,” he added.

Nevertheless, the senior Democratic lawmaker said that he would still support Biden “one hundred percent and without reservation” should he not heed the call to step aside. “Elections are, after all, a choice,” Smith explained and in his opinion Biden “would still be, by a wide margin, the best candidate in the current field.”