U.S. Sen. Angus King (I-ME) speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol October 26, 2021 in Washington, DC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
U.S. Sen. Angus King of Maine said that President Joe Biden needs to demonstrate to the public that he is capable of being the Democratic nominee for the 2024 presidential election after a widely criticized debate performance late last month.
When asked about increasing calls for Biden to step aside so the Democratic Party can nominate another candidate, a spokesperson King, an independent, said the senator does not speak to Democratic nor Republican party strategy or decisions.
However, the spokesperson said King was concerned by Biden’s June 27 debate performance and “believes the president should take every opportunity in the coming days to establish his capacity to continue the campaign and the job of the presidency through unscripted interviews and direct interactions with voters.”
“It is only through such a public process that he can demonstrate that [the debate] was simply an off night,” King’s spokesperson added, “and that his past ability to define the issues and seek common sense solutions remains undiminished.”
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King’s comments echoed those made by Maine Gov. Janet Mills, who last week was among the Democratic governors who joined Biden in a call about Democratic support in light of the debate. During the conversation, Mills shared with Maine Morning Star that she conveyed to Biden “that it would be good for him to reassure the voters of Maine, just as he was reassuring us.”
On Monday, Biden sent a letter to congressional Democrats, arguing that Democratic voters chose him and that he believes he remains the best candidate to defeat former President Donald Trump.
“We had a Democratic nomination process and the voters have spoken clearly and decisively,” he wrote. “I received over 14 million votes, 87% of the votes cast across the entire nominating process. | have nearly 3,000 delegates, making me the presumptive nominee of our party by a wide margin.”
King’s comments come amid increasing calls from Democratic congressional lawmakers for Biden to step down. U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, both Democrats, have not responded to repeated requests for comment as to whether they believe he should remain the party’s candidate.
Last week, Golden penned an op-ed arguing that regardless of whether Biden steps aside or not, he believes Trump will win the presidency in November.
“Maine’s representatives will need to work with him when it benefits Mainers, hold him accountable when it does not and work independently across the aisle no matter what,” Golden wrote.
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, a Republican who publicly backed Trump’s rival, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, has signaled that she is concerned Biden is not up to the challenge of another term as president.
“I don’t know how one could not be concerned,” Collins told the Bangor Daily News. “Crises don’t happen between 10 and four. They tend to happen in the middle of the night. Both our adversaries and our allies were watching what so many Americans watched on the debate stage and you can’t help but be concerned.”
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