Democrats remain tight-lipped about how long they have known that President Biden’s cognitive decline makes him unfit to lead their top candidates, but they do praise his decision to step aside.
Rep. Pete Aguilar, chairman of the Democratic caucus, thanked Biden for his “patriotism in the most challenging circumstances.”
“His decision underscores the reality that everything is at stake in this election because of the threat posed by Donald Trump,” the California lawmaker told reporters on Tuesday.
Rep. Ted Lieu, California, vice chairman of the Democratic caucus, added: “His selfless act this past weekend reminds me of what George Washington did when he voluntarily gave up his re-election bid and put country first.”
But when Democrats were asked how long they had known about the president’s decline, they remained largely silent.
They also refused to provide insight into how Vice President Kamala Harris was allegedly involved in a “cover-up” to keep Biden’s deteriorating condition secret.
Democrats have remained secretive about how long they have known that President Biden’s cognitive decline has made him unfit to lead their top contenders, though they have praised his decision to step aside
“We all watched the State of the Union and President Biden gave one of the best State of the Union addresses of any president ever,” Lieu told DailyMail.com. “So I think a number of us were surprised by the debate. So I can’t really explain it because I’m not someone who sees the president every day.”
Aguilar gave a roundabout answer to a question from DailyMail.com about when he realized Biden was not fit for the top job.
“Leaders of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives, our first duty is to listen to our members,” the Speaker said.
“Our job was to have some conversations with people who express their opinions publicly and people who express their opinions privately. We had to get that across to the leader and to the board members.”
Democratic Caucus Chairman Pete Aguilar (L) and Vice Chairman Ted Lieu (R) praised Biden’s decision to resign on Tuesday
Democrats have insisted that Biden is fit to lead the country at this time and for the next six months of his presidency, even if he is not fit to win the November election.
Lieu compared Biden to an NFL quarterback who retires. “If a quarterback takes a team that wasn’t performing well four years ago and now leads them to a winning streak and says, you know what, I’m going to retire next year, that doesn’t mean the quarterback can’t play this year.”
He flipped the script on older Republican candidates.
‘Donald Trump, he is the oldest candidate for president ever. He makes incoherent statements, forgets people’s names, he mixes people up. His cognitive decline is clearly visible, Donald Trump needs to pass the torch and withdraw from the race.’
On Sunday, Biden sent shockwaves through the country when he bowed to mounting pressure to step down from the top of the Democratic ticket. The decision was revealed in a written statement sent to X.
But Democrats are confident Harris can now close the “enthusiasm gap” with Republicans.
Harris raised $81 million in the 24 hours after Biden withdrew and endorsed her as his successor.
“That shows there is a big difference in enthusiasm between Democrats and Republicans,” Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) told DailyMail.com.
Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.), a friend of Biden’s, said Harris would attract young and black voters after Biden lost support among those demographics.
“We need to get young people excited. She’s definitely drawing in the African-American community,” she said.
“The people of Flint, my hometown, the enthusiasm for Harris there, the level of enthusiasm that we’re seeing, I’m not exaggerating, this sounds like a Joe Biden comment, but hundreds of new volunteers walking into our headquarters in the state of Michigan, people suddenly very excited,” Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., explained of what he’s seen in the one day since Biden dropped out of the race.