Republican leaders said that Biden's decision to step aside
confirmed their view that he was not in cognitive shape to serve as president —
an issue that has dogged the Democrat since his disastrous debate last month.
"If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is
not fit to serve as president," said House Speaker Mike Johnson, the most
powerful Republican in congress.
"He must resign the office immediately. November 05
cannot arrive soon enough," he added, referring to Election Day.
Biden, in announcing that he was dropping out, said he would
stay in office until the end of his term in January.
The
White House a few hours later on Sunday reiterated he would not resign, stating
"He looks forward to finish his term and delivering more historic results
for the American people."
Leading Republicans piled on with similar calls to resign
throughout Sunday afternoon, as they also directed fresh attacks at Vice
President Kamala Harris, who would move into the Oval Office should Biden
resign. Biden has endorsed her to be the next Democratic nominee.
New York Representative Elise Stefanik, the Republican
conference chair, made almost the exact same statement as Johnson's about
Biden's ability to fulfill his presidential duties.
She closed her statement similarly as well, "He must
immediately resign."
Biden's rival for president, Donald Trump, said the
Democratic leader was "not fit to serve from the very beginning" in
response to the announcement — though he did not call for the president to
resign.
Senator Steve Daines of Montana, who chairs Senate
Republicans' campaign arm, said that being president "is the hardest job
in the world".
"And
I no longer have confidence that Joe Biden can effectively execute his duties
as Commander-in-Chief,” he said in a statement.
Another
Republican senator, Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma, went further and appeared to
suggest that Biden should be forced from office by exercising the 25th
Amendment of the US Constitution — a never-used method to replace the president
if he cannot fulfil his duties.
Critics of Trump had called for using the amendment to remove
him when he was in office.
Many in the political world had been expecting to Biden to
drop out of the race.
His rambling, frequently incoherent answers in the June 27
debate with Trump had stunned the country and left people wondering if he could
serve as president for another four years. While in speeches and interviews
Biden often showed renewed vigour, he was also dogged by major stumbles and
seeming memory problems.
Democrats in Congress, worried that his shakiness would hurt
their chances at re-election, and major donors began to press for him to drop
out, but they did not press for him to resign.
The
last president to abandon his election campaign, Lyndon B. Johnson, also served
out the remainder of his term. Like Biden, Johnson had said that giving up the
race would allow him to focus on his presidential duties.
As the pressure on Biden has grown in recent weeks,
Republicans became more vocal about a resignation.
Just
hours before the president announced he was stepping aside, Trump's new running
mate, Senator JD Vance of Ohio, said, "Not running for reelection would be
a clear admission that President Trump was right all along about Biden not
being mentally fit enough to serve as Commander-in-Chief. There is no middle
ground."
"Joe Biden has been the worst President in my lifetime
and Kamala Harris has been right there with him every step of the way," he
added.
Biden has endorsed Kamala Harris to take up the mantle of
the presidential campaign, although the party will still have to formally
approve its nominee.
"I am honored to have the President’s endorsement and
my intention is to earn and win this nomination," Kamala said in a
statement. "I will do everything in my power to unite the Democratic
Party—and unite our nation—to defeat Donald Trump and his extreme Project 2025 agenda."
Republicans have reportedly prepared to attack Kamala’s candidacy
— as many believed she was the most likely successor.
Trump campaign sources have told US media outlets that they
were readying attack ads and opposition research in case they faced her.
Most criticism centers on the vice president's lead role on
immigration issues within the administration. Several speakers at the
Republican convention last week portrayed Kamala as a failed "border
czar".
Those attacks returned on Sunday.
Speaker
Johnson called her "a completely inept border czar" and said she had
been "a gleeful accomplice" in "the destruction of American sovereignty,
security, and prosperity".
"She has known for as long as anyone of his incapacity
to serve," he said, while also accusing her of being part of a political
cover up of Biden's problems.
Republican Governor Greg Abbott of Texas, known for taking a
hard line on immigration that has led to legal actions, also expressed concerns
about Kamala becoming president.
"I think I will need to triple the border wall, razor
wire barriers and National Guard on the border," he wrote on social media.
Donald Trump Jr. the former president's son, broadly said
her policies would be no different than Biden's.
"Kamala Harris owns the entire left-wing policy record
of Joe Biden. The only difference is that she is even more liberal and less
competent than Joe, which is really saying something," he posted on X,
formerly Twitter.
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