Moderate Dem Leader Takes A 'This Is Fine' Stance On A Second Trump Presidency

One of the leaders of a group of moderate and conservative House Democrats added to President Joe Biden’s political woes on Tuesday, saying in an op-ed that he wasn’t buying the idea a second Donald Trump term would be a “unique threat” to American democracy.

“I reject the premise. Unlike Biden and many others, I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system,” wrote Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine).

Golden is a co-chair of a vanishing but key group of House Democrats called the Blue Dog Coalition , which has often been a thorn in the side of party leaders by pushing for more centrist policy proposals, even as the Democrats’ liberal wing has been ascendant in recent years.

The 10-member group’s roster also reads like a who’s who of vulnerable Democratic House members. In addition to Golden, the other two group co-chairs, Reps. Mary Peltola (Alaska) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.) are on the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee’s “Frontline” list of vulnerable members.

Golden’s op-ed for the Bangor Daily News adds to pressure for Biden to withdraw from the White House race over concerns about his age and mental acuity.

Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) has also called for Biden to step back , but his seat is considered safely Democratic. (Also, Doggett called Trump a “criminal” and expressed fears that he could become president again.)

As a member in a swing district, Golden is not only saying he’d be “OK” with a Trump victory, but is giving space to other vulnerable Democrats to publicly express concerns about Biden that they may have kept confidential in order to show loyalty.

In the op-ed, Golden said he was not surprised by Biden’s sometimes halting