Democratic Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley told CNN host Kasie Hunt on Monday morning that President Joe Biden should “be honest with himself” about whether to keep running for president.
The Democratic congressman told Hunt that Biden’s decision impacts his party down-ballot.
“Look, the morning after when I looked at this, I said to myself, well, he had a really, really bad night, and, uh, we’ll move forward,” Quigley said. “Obviously, we have to be honest with ourselves and, uh, recognize that we have take the voters, you know, where they are. And there’s various, uh, concern about this situation, uh, given where we are. The real tragedy is, well, the American people didn’t get to see the contrast that existed between, uh, two dramatically different people acting as president for four years.”
“Is President Biden’s status as the person at the top of the ticket endangering Democratic hopes of keeping or regaining control of Congress depending on the respective chamber?” Hunt asked.
“Let me put it in the perspective. If I were to talk to the president today, I would advise him that the decision he has to make now is clearly only his,” Quigley said. “And as much as I greatly respect him and appreciate the extraordinary job. I think his four years are the, you know, one of the great presidencies of our lifetime. But I think he has to be honest with himself. This is a decision he’s gonna have to make. He clearly has to understand, I think what you’re getting to here, his decision not only impacts whose gonna serve in the White House the next four years, uh, but whose gonna serve in the Senate, whose gonna serve in the House, and it will have implications for decades to come.”
“It sounds like you’re actually open to the idea that it might be the right decision for him to step aside,” Hunt said.
“I think what I am stressing is it has to be his decision,” Quigley told the CNN host. “We have to be honest with ourselves. And it wasn’t just a horrible night, but I won’t go beyond that out of my respect and understanding of President Joe Biden, a very proud person who has served us extraordinarily well for 50 years. But it’s his decision. I just want him to appreciate at this time how much it impacts not just his race, but all the other races coming in November.” (RELATED: Anderson Cooper Challenges Ex-Biden Advisor After Political Analyst Says ‘Cognitive Decline’ Present For One Year)
Quigley said it’s “clear” that Biden’s debate performance did not “influence” his decision when asked if bad polling for Democratic congressional candidates would cause the “dam” to “break.” The Illinois representative told Hunt he does not know “what will” convince Biden to step down.
Democratic Minnesota Rep. and former 2024 presidential candidate Dean Philips warned his party in Dec. 2023 of Biden’s “weakness” that “predated” his candidacy. Phillips said months ago that Biden is “absolutely not” capable of campaigning like he was doing at the time.
“By exposing him now, is that not a service to the Democratic Party?” Phillips asked while he was running for president. “Because he’s going to be exposed on a much more difficult stage in a number of months if he becomes the nominee.”
Phillips told Fox News’ Jesse Watters that Biden should step down despite being a “decent man” after the president’s press conference following the release of special counsel Robert Hur’s report in Feb. 2024. Phillips said Americans “wouldn’t be having these conversations” if Biden, who Hur described as unfit for trial as “a well-meaning elderly man with a poor memory,” were not running for office.
“This is tragic” – Democratic Presidential Candidate Dean Phillips says Biden needs to step down right now. pic.twitter.com/uphSNsDMxa
— Jesse Watters (@JesseBWatters) February 10, 2024
Phillips has not yet broken his silence since Thursday’s debate.
