Colorado Gov. Jared Polis said Democrats have time to shift the focus of the fall presidential campaign, but stopped short of calling for President Joe Biden to withdraw.
Speaking Sunday on MSNBC’s “Inside with Jen Psaki,” Polis said, “It’s no secret that we are discouraged.”
While he did not call for Biden to be replaced as the candidate, he said Democratic operatives need to seriously consider whether he should focus on the “three-and-a-half-month run-up” required for the election, or the remaining six months of his presidency. – at least suggesting that the president’s energies could be better used in government than in candidacy.
“What I want to see is no different than what most Democrats want to see. How did we win and how did we gain those 5, 6, 7 points in the polls?” he added.
Recent research from the Times of London and Say24 showed Biden behind the Republican candidate donald trump in key swing states Arizona, Wisconsin, Nevada, Georgia, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Michigan.
Polis, who has said another Trump presidency would be bad for women’s rights, freedom and the economy, said a successful change in Biden’s campaign would convey to voters that Biden is a better choice for America’s future. He said: “That’s a question here: Can President Biden project to be that alternative with a positive and optimistic vision for the next four years?”
But Polis, president of the National Governors Association, said the campaign trail is rigorous for a candidate of any age and that Democrats need a candidate who has the stamina to get that message across to Americans. It’s unclear whether he thinks Biden has the energy.
“This is an 18-hour-a-day ordeal. You’re lucky to get a good night’s sleep,” Polis said.
