(Bloomberg) -- A Southern California congressman directly challenged Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign during a virtual meeting the president held Friday with a group of Democratic lawmakers.
Representative Mike Levin, who represents a competitive San Diego-area district, asked Biden in the call to make way for a younger leader, people familiar with the call said. The host ended the call with the Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s political arm shortly afterward.
Biden is fighting to shore up support from donors and political figures in his own party after a disastrous performance in his debate last month against Republican Donald Trump.
Levin, who released a statement shortly after the call urging Biden to step aside, is one of 19 congressional Democrats who have publicly asked the president to withdraw from the race as concerns persist about his age, mental acuity and ability to defeat Trump in November. His office said the details of the call with Biden are private.
The stance was a dramatic turnabout for Levin from the 2022 midterm elections, when the congressman embraced Biden at a time most vulnerable Democrats steered clear of the president. Biden even visited Levin’s district to campaign for him shortly before Election Day.
Levin said he has “incredible appreciation” for Biden’s accomplishments as president “but I believe the time has come for President Biden to pass the torch.”
California Senator Alex Padilla, a strong Biden supporter who was on the call and confirmed the exchange after it was reported, said he was disappointed that Levin confronted Biden during the virtual meeting.
Biden’s “response was good, he’s a pro,” Padilla said.
Biden countered to Levin that “I’m going out and letting people touch me, poke me, ask me questions” in order to “show people everything from how well I move to how much I know and that I’m still in good charge,” according to a transcript excerpt provided by a person familiar with the call.
On Friday, he headed to a campaign event in Detroit, taking the effort to the swing state of Michigan.
Biden held a high-stakes press conference Thursday evening that included a jarring gaffe — he used Trump’s name while referring to his running mate — but supporters saw as demonstration he mastered complex foreign policy issues in an unscripted give and take.
The 81-year-old president flatly insisted he is pressing ahead with his campaign.
“I’m determined on running,” Biden said, adding he would only step aside if aides told him that he couldn’t win, something “no one is suggesting” now.
--With assistance from Christian Hall.
(Updates with background on Levin-Biden relationship beginning in fifth paragraph)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.
