Rep. Adam Smith (D-Wash.) said Wednesday he doesn’t think President Biden would finish a second term, just days after he publicly called on the president to withdraw from the 2024 race.
“I think right now, like I said, he’s more than capable of doing the job,” Smith said on NewsNation’s “The Hill.” “If you ask my honest opinion, given his health, do I think he can do the full four years, no.
“I don’t know. I’m not a doctor; I’m not measuring it. But we have a process in place to deal with it,” he added.
Smith’s comments come as some Democrats are increasingly expressing concerns about Biden’s ability to defeat former President Trump in November and serve a second term, given his disastrous debate performance two weeks ago.
The Washington Democrat said a “strong consensus” emerged last day that Democrats “will lose badly” if Biden is at the top of the ticket.
Later, clarifying his statement, Smith said, “I’m not going to make any bold predictions about… he’s going to win, he’s going to lose.”
“What I will say and what is absolutely obvious is that we have a much better chance of winning certainly at the presidential level, and I would submit every vote, with a different candidate,” he added.
Smith said he hopes Biden decides to drop out in time for the Democratic Party to choose a new candidate during the convention in August.
Smith on Monday became the oldest Democratic lawmaker to publicly call on Biden to drop out of the race, saying it is now “clear he is not the best person to deliver the Democratic message.”
He said he would recommend Vice President Harris to replace Biden on the ticket, calling her “an incredibly strong and effective speaker.”
Seven other Democratic lawmakers have explicitly made the same call, including Reps. Lloyd Doggett (Texas), Raúl Grijalva (Ariz.), Seth Moulton (Mass.), Mike Quigley (Ill.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Mikie Sherrill ( NJ) and Pat Ryan (NY).
At least four top House Democrats also said Biden should step aside in a private call on Sunday, although one of the four, Rep. Jerry Nadler (N.Y.), publicly supported Biden on Tuesday.
Democrats held a closed-door meeting on Tuesday to discuss Biden’s political future, where many party members maintained they would remain with Biden.
Upon leaving the meeting – which lasted around two hours – Democrats indicated that the debate was unbalanced in favor of keeping Biden on the ticket. The support suggested that Biden may have prevented individual detractors from establishing the narrative, at least for now.
Biden has rejected calls to drop out and insists he will remain in the race. He asked congressional Democrats in a letter Monday to unite behind his candidacy.
NewsNation is owned by Nexstar Media Group, which also owns The Hill.
Updated at 7:20 p.m. EDT
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