Sen. JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, has called for President Joe Biden to resign from office, citing his declining chances of winning the upcoming election.
In a Saturday social media post, Vance wrote that anyone urging Biden to stop running without also demanding he step down as president is engaging in “an absurd level of cynicism.” He stated that if Biden is unable to run, he is unfit to serve and should resign immediately.
Vance’s comments come as Biden faces mounting pressure to drop out of the presidential race. A recent Associated Press/NORC poll found that nearly two-thirds of Democrats believe he should withdraw from the campaign. Even some of Biden’s closest allies have reportedly told NBC News that he has no chance of winning the election.
“He needs to drop out,” one Biden campaign official told NBC News on condition of anonymity. “He will never recover from this.” Another source close to the campaign said that no one involved in the effort believes Biden has a path to victory.
The calls for Biden to step aside have intensified following his poor performance in the June debate against former President Donald Trump. A recent New York Times report revealed that several people close to Biden have begun to accept the idea that he may not be able to win the election and may need to drop out of the race.
While one source claimed that Biden has not yet made a decision about his future in the race, another said that “reality is setting in” and that he may make an announcement soon, potentially endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris as his replacement.
Despite the pressure, Biden has stated that he has no plans to step aside. In a statement obtained by Reuters on Friday, he said he looks forward to returning to the campaign trail next week to continue highlighting the threat posed by Trump’s “Project 2025 agenda” and to make the case for his own record and vision for America.
