House Democrat Lloyd Doggett urges Joe Biden to make 'painful and difficult decision' to withdraw from 2024 presidential race

WASHINGTON, DC: Representative Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) has publicly called on President Joe Biden to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.

Doggett, a long-serving House member since 1995, expressed disappointment in Biden's performance at a recent debate and believes a new leader is needed.

Lloyd Doggett calls for a new leadership in 2024 election

In a statement, Doggett said he had hoped the debate between Biden and former President Donald Trump would boost the president's poll numbers, but it failed to do so.

“Instead of reassuring voters, the President failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies,” Doggett said.

He likened the situation to when Lyndon Johnson, who once represented Doggett’s district, chose to withdraw under different circumstances. “President Biden should do the same,” he added.

Doggett, who is 77 years old, just four years younger than Biden, emphasized the need for a new generation of leaders.

“He has the opportunity to encourage a new generation of leaders from whom a nominee can be chosen to unite our country through an open, democratic process,” he said, The Hill reported.

Lloyd Dogget says reservation made public is 'not done lightly'

Doggett stressed that his call for Biden to withdraw is made with respect for the president's achievements.

“My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved,” Doggett continued.

He expressed hope that Biden would make the "painful and difficult decision" to step aside.

Doggett highlighted the importance of the upcoming election, arguing that Democrats need to field a candidate best positioned to defeat Trump.

“Our overriding consideration must be who has the best hope of saving our democracy from an authoritarian takeover by a criminal and his gang," he said in the statement which he also shared on X. 

"Too much is at stake to risk a Trump victory—too great a risk to assume that what could not be turned around in a year, what was not turned around in the debate, can be turned around now,” he added.

Concerns over Donald Trump’s legal situation

Doggett also referenced the recent Supreme Court decision granting Trump some immunity in the federal case related to the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

“This week, with the Supreme Court creating ‘a law-free zone around the President,’ Trump, newly-empowered with immunity, could usher America into a long, dark, authoritarian era unchecked by either the courts or a submissive Republican Congress,” he wrote.

Doggett concluded by acknowledging Biden's past contributions but urging him to step aside to prevent a Trump victory in 2024.

“President Biden saved our democracy by delivering us from Trump in 2020. He must not deliver us to Trump in 2024,” he said, according to the statement.