As US President Joe Biden announces his decision to withdraw from the November elections, top Republican Party leaders say he must resign as president “immediately”.
“If Joe Biden is not fit to run for president, he is not fit to serve as president. He must resign from his position immediately. November 5th can’t come soon enough,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, the top Republican in the US Congress, said in a statement on Sunday.
Johnson characterized Biden’s withdrawal as an “unprecedented” moment in US history.
“We must be clear about what just happened. The Democratic Party forced the Democratic candidate off the ballot just over 100 days before the election,” he wrote.
“Having invalidated the votes of more than 14 million Americans who chose Joe Biden to be the Democratic nominee for president, the self-proclaimed ‘party of democracy’ has proven exactly the opposite.”
Biden has said he intends to serve out the remainder of his term, which ends Jan. 20, 2025. But Biden’s Republican opponents, including Donald Trump, have criticized his presidency and called for the 81-year-old to resign before the end of his term. .
“Crooked Joe Biden was not fit to run for president and he is certainly not fit to serve – and never has been!” Trump posted on his Truth Social network.
Republicans seized on Biden’s poor debate performance last month to deem him incapable of serving another four years. Now that he is out of the presidential election, many say he should also resign from office.
Johnson, in a separate interview with ABC, hinted that Republicans may launch legal challenges to Democrats’ decision to replace Biden at the polls.
Johnson also used his post to attack Vice President Kamala Harris, who Biden has proposed as his replacement running mate. Johnson described Harris as “a cheerful accomplice” who “co-owns the Biden administration’s disastrous policy failures.”
“Regardless of the chaos in the current White House, our adversaries around the world must be reminded that the U.S. Congress, the U.S. military, and the American people are fully prepared and committed to defending our interests both at home and abroad. ,” Johnson wrote. .
Senator JD Vance, the Republican vice presidential nominee, said on X that not running for re-election would be a “clear admission” that Trump was right all along about Biden “not being mentally fit enough to serve as commander-in-chief.” -boss “.
“There is no middle ground,” he added.
Elise Stefanik, chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, shared a similar sentiment, saying in a statement that if Biden is unable to run for reelection, he will be “unfit and unfit to serve” as U.S. president.
However, Democrats defended Biden’s decision, calling it a “patriotic” and “selfless” measure.
In a joint statement, former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said they “join millions of Americans in thanking President Biden for all he has accomplished.” They also supported Harris to be the Democratic nominee to face Trump in November.
“Now is the time to support Kamala Harris and fight with everything we have to elect her. America’s future depends on it,” the Clintons said.
Former President Barack Obama, who chose then-Senator Biden as his running mate in 2008, called him a “patriot of the highest order” but warned of “uncharted waters in the days ahead” – and stopped short of endorsing Harris .
“I have extraordinary confidence that our party’s leaders will be able to create a process from which a remarkable candidate emerges,” the former US leader and member of the Democratic Party said in a statement.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said in a statement that Biden was not only a “great president and a great legislative leader, but also a truly incredible human being.” “Of course, his decision was not easy, but he once again put his country, his party and our future first,” he said.
Schumer and Sen. Dick Durbin, the Senate’s top two Democrats, however, did not offer support for Biden’s proposed replacement, Harris.
“Now the Democratic Party must unite behind a candidate who can defeat Donald Trump and keep America moving in the right direction. I will do everything in my power to help in this effort,” Durbin said.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
