After President Joe Biden struggled at the first presidential debate last week in Atlanta, he is facing calls from some in the Democratic Party to step aside from his 2024 campaign to let another presidential candidate take his place.
U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat from Kansas City, appeared concerned on KCUR’s Up To Date about the president’s debate performance. But Cleaver has not yet taken a side on whether Biden should leave the race.
“I am worried about the president’s ability to continue the campaign. However, I’m looking to be reassured this coming week that this (performance) is a one-off, he had a bad night,” Cleaver said.
“But, I can honestly take a polygraph test and say I have not come to a final conclusion.”
Cleaver also expressed his worries that an open convention, a scenario in which his party’s candidate would not yet be decided heading into this year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago, would be “horrible” for their chances of winning against Donald Trump.
“I think we can expect demonstrators from the Palestinian’s point of view,” Cleaver said. “We’re going to have women who would be upset because they don’t believe Vice President Harris is getting the level of consideration that she could. We’re also going to have inside the party — and this could be really dangerous — and that is the Social Democrats, the Bernie Sanders wing of the party, into a death battle with the majority of the others of us. But still, that is not going to be helpful.”
