“I made the decision with a heavy heart that I think it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation,” the West Virginia lawmaker told CNN’s “State of the Union.”
Nearly three dozen Democrats in Congress have said it is time for Biden to drop out of the race. Four senators — Peter Welch of Vermont; Jon Tester of Montana; Martin Heinrich of New Mexico; and Sherrod Brown of Ohio — have said the Democratic president should abandon his reelection campaign against Republican Donald Trump.
Biden’s debate performance in late June raised open questions about the 81-year-old’s ability to mount a convincing campaign to defeat Trump.
“I’m really concerned about the president’s health and well-being,” Manchin said on ABC’s “This Week.”
Democrats want him out, but Biden is holding on
But as the president remains isolated at his beach house in Delaware after being diagnosed with COVID-19, he has said he is ready to return to the campaign trail this week and counter what he calls “a dark vision” espoused by Trump. Biden insists he can defeat Trump like in 2020 and has been meeting with family and advisers as he resists pressure from the Democratic establishment to drop out of the race.
But Manchin said Biden should clear the way for other Democrats and spend the rest of his term as “the president he always wanted to be, being able to unite the country, bring the country back together, being able to maybe spend all his time solving the problems of Gaza and bringing peace to Gaza and the Middle East. Being able to also spend his time strengthening Ukraine’s ability to defend and win its freedom, and then being able to show the rest of the world the orderly transfer of power from the world’s superpower.”
He added that “the Democratic Party needs an open process” to choose a new candidate. Manchin said he was not trying to replace Vice President Kamala Harris. “This is about healthy competition,” the lawmaker said.
But the Democratic National Committee’s policymaking arm is moving ahead with plans to hold a virtual vote by Aug. 7 to nominate the presidential candidate, ahead of the party’s convention later this month in Chicago.
Manchin, who became an independent in May after years as a Democrat, is not seeking re-election to the Senate.
Source: With information from AP
