Some members of the far-left “Squad” have thrown their support behind President Biden as some lawmakers have called for the president to withdraw from the presidential race after his disturbing debate performance late last month.
In an interview just days after the disastrous debate in Atlanta, Minnesota Democrat Rep. Ilhan Omar urged Democrats to do everything they could to ensure that the president made it over the finish line.
Omar told a local Minnesota news outlet that President Biden was the country’s only chance to defeat Donald Trump in November and “make sure our democracy is intact.”
Omar’s fellow Squad member Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) also backed the president, telling a reporter last Monday that she had spoken to President Biden over the weekend and he “made it clear” that he intended to remain in the race.
Ocasio-Cortez said the president has said repeatedly that he was staying in the race and said that for her the “matter is closed.”
Democrat Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts, another member of the progressive Squad,” also backed the president.
Congressional Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-WA) released a statement on June 8 that stopped short of endorsing Biden’s decision to remain in the race but reiterated that he and the vice president “were elected by the voters.”
Jayapal said that Democrats must “consider the best path forward” to protect vulnerable Democrats in the November election and ensure that Donald Trump is defeated.
Meanwhile, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi offered a less-than-full-throated endorsement of the president during an interview on “Morning Joe” last Wednesday.
Pelosi avoided saying whether she wanted the president to withdraw or remain in the race, saying instead that the decision would be “up to the president.”
Despite Biden’s repeated assertions that he planned to continue in the race, Pelosi told the hosts of “Morning Joe” that Democrat lawmakers wanted the president to make his decision soon because time was running out.
