Republicans on Sunday insisted that if President Biden is not fit to run for president in 2024, he should also resign from office right now, and immediately attacked Vice President Kamala Harris.
In a statement Sunday afternoon, Joe Biden announced he would not run as the Democratic nominee in November and endorsed Harris to take his place.
“If Joe Biden is unfit to run for president, he is unfit to serve as president. He must resign from office immediately. November 5th cannot come soon enough,” House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., wrote in X.
“If Joe Biden ends his re-election campaign, how can he justify remaining president?” asked newly nominated vice presidential candidate Sen. JD Vance of Ohio.
Republicans on Sunday insisted that if President Biden is not fit to run for president in 2024, he should also resign from office right now, and immediately attacked Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris was highly critical of her: “As second in command and a completely inept border czar, Harris has been a gleeful accomplice not only to the destruction of American sovereignty, security, and prosperity, but also to the greatest political cover-up in American history. She has known for as long as anyone that he is unfit to serve.”
“If Joe is too weak to continue running for president, he should resign as our Commander in Chief immediately,” Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., wrote on X just after the momentous news broke.
“If Joe Biden is unable to run for re-election, he is unfit and unfit to serve as President of the United States. He must resign immediately,” House Republican Conference Chair Elise Stefanik added in her own post.
“Then RESIGN from office. If you can’t run a simple political campaign, you can’t be president,” Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., wrote in X.
“If Joe Biden is unfit to be the Democratic nominee for president, he is unfit to be president for the remainder of his term. For the good of the country, Joe Biden should resign immediately,” Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., wrote on X.
Calls from Republicans for him to resign immediately are unlikely to have any influence on Biden. His decision to drop out of the race for another term was prompted by pressure from calls from within his own camp for him to step aside.
In a statement on Sunday afternoon, Joe Biden announced that he would not run as the Democratic candidate in November.
If Biden were to resign, Harris would become president and would have to nominate a vice president who would have to be confirmed by both the House and the Senate.
“While it has been my intention to seek re-election, I believe it is in the best interest of my party and the country that I resign and focus solely on fulfilling my duties as President for the remainder of my term,” Biden wrote in a statement Sunday.
“If Joe Biden is no longer fit to run for re-election, he is no longer fit to serve as president,” Senate Republican campaign manager Sen. Steve Daines of Montana wrote in X.
‘I am taking on the most difficult job in the world and I no longer have confidence that Joe Biden can effectively carry out his duties.’
The 81-year-old shocked Washington by stepping aside on Sunday after weeks of doubts about his fitness to serve following his disastrous performance in the presidential debate that set off a series of gaffes from which he has not recovered.
His historic decision comes 24 days after the debate and after a 50-year career in politics that culminated in the White House.
Biden said he would speak in more detail about his decision in remarks to the nation later this week.
Last week, Biden was removed from the campaign trail after being diagnosed with COVID-19 in the middle of a West Coast tour. This led to even more speculation about his imminent withdrawal from the race.
This came after the showdown with Trump last month, in which Biden was seen many times on split screen with his mouth open and a blank stare. During his speaking time at the podium, the president would stumble, freeze, lose his train of thought and mumble as he answered questions from the moderator.