'It's time to rip the band aid off!': Former longtime Democrat lawmaker urges Biden to step aside for Harris
A former longtime Democratic lawmaker is once again calling for President Biden to step aside and end his 2024 bid for a second term in the White House.
"We have to rip the band aid off! Too much is at stake," former Rep. Tim Ryan of Ohio emphasized in a social media post on Tuesday.
Pointing to Vice President Kamala Harris, Ryan argued that "@VP has significantly grown into her job, she will destroy Trump in debate, highlight choice issue, energize our base, bring back young voters and give us generational change. It’s time!"
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in his post, Ryan linked to an opinion piece he wrote in Newsweek which starts with him noting that "I ran for President in 2020. I was the first Presidential candidate to endorse Joe Biden in 2020. I love America. I love our Party. I love Joe Biden. The Democratic Nominee in 2024 should be Kamala Harris."
Biden, who at age 81 is the oldest president in the nation's history, is facing the roughest stretch of his bid for a second term in the White House. This, after his halting delivery and stumbling answers at last week's first debate with former President Trump sparked widespread panic in the Democratic Party and spurred calls from political pundits, editorial writers and some party politicians and donors for Biden to step aside as the party's 2024 standard-bearer.
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In his two 2020 Democratic presidential primary debate appearances in the summer of 2019, the then-congressman from Ohio known for his populist outreach to blue-collar workers tangled a couple of times with the then-former Vice President Joe Biden.
However, after dropping out of the nomination race in the autumn of 2019, Ryan endorsed Biden.
Fast-forward to 2022, and as the Democratic Senate nominee in Ohio, a high-profile election showdown with now GOP Sen. JD Vance, Ryan said multiple times that he did not believe Biden should run for re-election in 2024.
"No, I’ve been very clear. I’d like to see a generational change," Ryan said at an October 2022 debate.
Additionally, last November during an interview with CNN, Ryan reiterated that "I don't think the president should run."
Ryan, who turns 51 later this month, wrote in his opinion piece that Biden pledged during the 2020 campaign "to be a bridge President to the next generation. I liked that idea. I envisioned him defeating former President Donald Trump, stabilizing the country, and passing the torch to the next generation."
"Regrettably, that bridge collapsed last week. Witnessing Joe Biden struggle was heartbreaking. And we must forge a new path forward," Ryan argued.
Fox News reached out to the Biden campaign for reaction to Ryan's comments but had yet to receive a response at the time this article was posted.
Biden is not the only top Democratic politician Ryan has urged to step aside.
Following the 2016 election, Ryan unsuccessfully challenged then-former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for minority leader. While Pelosi - who would two years later once again win back the Speaker's gavel - easily dispatched Ryan, his challenge was credited with leading Pelosi to enact changes to House Democrats' leadership.
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