Senator Joe Manchin (I-W.V.) made the rounds on cable television Sunday to call for Joe Biden to drop out of the race and “pass the torch” to a new Democrat candidate.
“I came to decision with a heavy heart that I think it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation,” Manchin told CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union.”
“I want him to be the president in the last five months of this presidency of his term, to do what he can do is unite our country, to calm down the rhetoric and be able to focus attention to peace in the world,” Manchin said.
“Campaigning, I’ve been to statewide campaigns many times, it’s an unbelievable challenge to anybody, to anybody physically, mentally, every way, shape and form. And right now, the country and the world needs our President Joe Biden, but the compassion he’s always had and the ability to bring people together to use all of his forces and energy towards that.”
The former Democrat, who left the party in May, also advocated for an “open process” in the coming weeks to select a replacement.
“I think that we have a lot of talent on the bench, a lot of good people,” Manchin said, adding that his top picks include Govs. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) and Josh Shapiro (D-Pa.).
“I’ve got two tremendous governors right next door to me, and Andy Beshear in Kentucky and Josh Shapiro in Pennsylvania, who are operating with legislators either evenly split or completely opposite of their party affiliation,” he said.
“They haven’t divided their state. They haven’t made you pick aside and demonize the other side. They brought people together. This is what an open process would do.”
Manchin, who’s become the fifth senator to call on Biden to step aside, also joined ABC News on Sunday to reiterate his call for Biden to “pass the torch to a new generation.”
BREAKING: Sen. Joe Manchin calls on Pres. Biden to drop out of the presidential race and “pass the torch to a new generation” during an interview on @ThisWeekABC. https://t.co/gebfbNo68J pic.twitter.com/fwcXWTNwL9
— ABC News (@ABC) July 21, 2024
But the Biden campaign has remained defiant in the face of growing calls among Democrats for him to drop out.
Biden campaign battleground states director wrote in a memo after the Republican National Convention, “Joe Biden has made it more than clear: he’s in this race, and he’s in it to win it. Moreover, he’s the presumptive nominee, there is no plan for an alternative nominee.”
