Democratic Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut on Thursday joined the growing list of lawmakers calling on President Joe Biden to step down as his party's nominee, explaining on CNN the reasons for his decision to issue a statement after the president's solo press conference.
Himes appeared on “The Source with Kaitlan Collins” to discuss her decision, along with more than a dozen Democrats, to urge Biden to stop campaigning in his race against former President Donald Trump in 2024. After Himes described the “issues” with Biden's campaign and pointed to his low polling numbers, CNN host Kaitlan Collins pressed Himes on what she thinks will happen in November if Biden stays in office.
“Do you think Joe Biden would lose to Donald Trump if he ran against him?” Collins pressed.
“All I can do right now is look at the numbers. No president has ever won with 37 percent approval. Look at the battleground states, because this is a race that's going to be decided by five or six states. You can look at all the polls, and the president is not leading in any of them,” Himes said.
“And ask yourself: This is the future. We don't know the future. What will the trajectory be? Imagine three months from now, we see another debate-like performance right before the election. Do I want to take that risk? I don't.”
Himes had previously praised the “emotional” side of Biden's storytelling, but said the party can no longer rely solely on “loyalty, love and emotion.” (RELATED: 'Worst case scenario': Biden avoids complete meltdown after gaffe-ridden press conference)
“So much of politics is about loyalty, love and emotion, and no one understands or captivates that more than Joe Biden. The Irish, as storytellers, live in a world of emotion and those are important values in politics,” Himes continued.
“But the problem is that it can go too far. When love and loyalty go too far, we end up with 70 million Americans who will not waver in their support for a felon, a criminal and a convicted rapist who has pledged to turn this country into a dictatorship.”
“So the stakes are so high, the question now is not how loyal you are, but can we avoid Joe Biden being re-elected — forget about that, we'll talk more about that if you like — but can we avoid a Trump Presidency II. I don't know anybody who doesn't want a Trump Presidency II,” Himes said.
Hymes is a complete Statement Online During Biden's solo press conference on Thursday evening, he was heard making multiple gaffes. Himes said in a Twitter post that Biden could not “jeopardize” his legacy by losing to Trump because he “no longer” believed Biden was the best candidate for his party.
Despite concerns within his party, Biden and his allies remain adamant about the 2024 campaign, with Biden calling on lawmakers at the Democratic National Convention to “run against” him.
