Republican Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio slammed calls for Democrats to replace President Joe Biden in the 2024 presidential race.
Biden is facing calls from many of his own supporters to step aside following his debate performance against former President Donald Trump on Thursday night. Biden, who has fielded questions about his age, raised eyebrows after he sounded hoarse throughout the night and appeared to mumble at several points throughout the night.
However, Vance criticized the idea that Biden should step down during an interview with conservative news outlet Newsmax.
He said it is "so interesting that the party that has accused Republicans of being threats to democracy for four years is now trying to pull Joe Biden for the ballot for effectively doing what has been obvious for four years, that the guy just clearly isn't up for the job."
"My attitude is Democrats are stuck with Joe Biden. It would be a massive affront to American democracy for them to have effectively given Democratic primary voters one choice for the entire primary process, and now that he's had a disastrous debate performance, try to pull him. It's impossible. It doesn't make any sense."
Donald Trump Jr., the eldest son of the former president, agreed with Vance, writing in a post to that he is "absolutely right."
"Democrats forced Joe Biden onto their voters by rigging their primary to block real challengers, but now they want to unilaterally remove Joe as their nominee? Now that sounds like a real attack on American Democracy!" he wrote.
Newsweek reached out to the Biden campaign and Vance's office for comment via email.
Calls for Biden to leave the presidential race began soon after the debate started as Democrats expressed panic over his performance.
"I have spent months, both on MSNBC and at Zeteo, refusing to obsess over Biden's age and fitness for office. But no longer. Not after tonight's car crash of a 'debate'. It's time for Biden to step aside. The Democrats need to find a new nominee," progressive commentator Mehdi Hasan posted to X, formerly Twitter.
"If Biden truly believes Democracy is on the line, he should step aside and let another democrat step in to take on Trump. Put the country first," posted Alyssa Farah Griffin, a former Trump administration aide who no longer supports the former president.
In order for Biden to be replaced at the top of the ticket this late in the campaign, he would likely have to pull out of the race. It is unclear whether he could lose the nomination in a contested convention, and he has won the vast majority of Democratic delegates during the primary season.
Biden is on track to be confirmed as the party's 2024 nominee at the Democratic National Committee in Chicago in August after winning 3,904 of the available 3,949 delegates. A candidate would need 1,968 delegates to become the nominee.
Meanwhile, high-profile Democrats who could replace Biden continue to support him. Following the debate, Vice President Kamala Harris admitted that Biden had a "slow start" but said the election should be decided on his record as president, not the 90-minute debate on CNN.
"What we saw tonight was the president making a very clear contrast with Donald Trump on all the issues that matter to the American people," she said. "Yes, there was a slow start, but it was a strong finish. What became very clear over the course of the night is that Joe Biden is fighting on behalf of the American people on substance, on policy, on performance."
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About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more
