Sen. Joe Manchin calls on Biden to step aside, pass torch to 'a new generation'

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Independent Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia on Sunday called on President Biden to step aside.

"He will go down with a legacy unlike many people as one of the finest and surely a patriot, an American," Manchin said of Biden during an appearance on ABC's "This Week." "And so with that, I come with a heavy heart to think the time has come for him to pass the torch to a new generation."

Manchin changed his party registration from Democrat to independent this year, though he still caucuses with the Democrats in the Senate.

ABC host Martha Raddatz asked Manchin directly if he believes Biden should step aside as the Democratic nominee. Manchin said Biden "has the ability for the last five months of his presidency to be the president he always wanted to be, be able to unite the country, bring it back together, to be able to maybe spend all of his time on solving the problems in Gaza, bringing peace to Gaza and to the Middle East."

CAMPAIGN CRISIS: DEMS WHO HAVE CALLED FOR BIDEN TO DROP OUT OR RAISED CONCERNS ABOUT HIS HEALTH

From now until the end of his term, Manchin said, Biden could also "dedicate his time to enforcing, reinforcing Ukraine's ability to defend and win their freedom, and then be able to show the rest of the world the orderly transfer of power from the superpower of the world."

In the three weeks since Biden's disastrous debate performance