On Monday’s “PBS NewsHour,” House Armed Services Committee Ranking Member Rep. Adam Smith (D-WA) called for President Joe Biden to leave the race and stated, “he has healthcare concerns. You saw that at the White House press conference today, where there were not clear answers given.”
Co-host Geoff Bennett asked, “So, you say that President Biden should exit the race, why? Does it have to do with his electoral chances, or, in your view, his ability to do the job as President?”
Smith answered, “There’s two — the two most compelling reasons are, number one, I don’t believe the President is an effective messenger at this point. And that’s the shame of it, we have a great message. I think the President’s done a good job the last four years. When you look at where the economy was when he came in, he’s managed that in a way that has put us in a better position than any other country in the world coming out of COVID. He passed the infrastructure bill. He passed the Inflation Reduction Act. He has pulled together this coalition that has helped us stop Putin from taking over Ukraine. But what we saw in the debate and what we’ve seen since then and also, in some instances before that, he is not an effective messenger for that.”
Smith continued, “And he has healthcare concerns. You saw that at the White House press conference today, where there were not clear answers given. So, I just think, at this point, there are other people that could deliver that message better, and the stakes are so high. And, yes, we are distracted. But I know the White House has said, well, members need to stop talking about this. Well, we’re not the ones bringing it up. We were not there at the White House press event today. The media brought it up. Our constituents have brought it up. It’s what people are talking about. Yes, it is a distraction from talking about our message, from talking about Donald Trump. But given President Biden’s performance in the debate, what has happened since then, we can’t do that. I want the most effective messenger possible, because the stakes could not be higher.”
Later, Smith stated that if Biden is the nominee, he’ll support him.
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
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