Key Democrat Schiff calls on Biden to drop out of presidential race

Democratic U.S. Representative Adam Schiff called on United States President Joe Biden to end his reelection bid on Wednesday, becoming the 20th congressional Democrat to do so.

Schiff said Wednesday that Biden has been “one of the most consequential presidents” but that the nation is at a crossroads and a second Trump presidency would undermine U.S. democracy.

“While the choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s alone, I believe it is time for him to pass the torch,” Schiff said in a statement. “And in doing so, secure his legacy of leadership by allowing us to defeat Donald Trump in the upcoming election.”

“A second Trump presidency will undermine the very foundation of our democracy, and I have serious concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November,” the statement said,

Schiff, who is running for Senate this year, is a former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee who led the first House impeachment against Trump in 2019.

Democratic concern about the 81-year-old incumbent’s ability to beat Republican challenger Trump, or to serve another four years in office, surged after Biden’s halting June 27 debate performance.

Trump is currently in Milwaukee where his fellow Republicans are formally nominating him as candidate, days after he narrowly escaped an assassin’s bullet at a Pennsylvania campaign stop.

— With files from Reuters