North suburban U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider on Thursday became the second Illinois Democrat to call on President Joe Biden to abandon his reelection bid following the president’s listless performance at last month’s debate and Biden’s inability to full stem the tide as those in his party worry he can’t defeat presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump.
“We are faced with a stark choice: be resigned to slog through this election praying we can successfully defend our democracy, or enthusiastically embrace a vibrant vision for our future, building on the extraordinary foundation President Biden has created for our nation over the past four years,” Schneider, a five-term congressman from Highland Park, said in statement. “I choose the latter.”
Schneider joins fellow Democratic U.S. Rep. Mike Quigley of Chicago on the growing list of Democratic officials, fundraisers and activists calling on the first-term president to no longer seek the party’s presidential renomination. National party leaders are meeting next month in Chicago for next month’s Democratic National Convention, which will be held at the United Center.
While professing his “love” for the 81-year-old Biden and ticking off a list of accomplishments he’s achieved in his first term that included rescuing “our country from a potential despot and (restoring) international confidence in the U.S. as the world’s indispensable nation,” leading the nation through the COVID-19 pandemic and passing a major investment in the nation’s infrastructure, Schneider said it is time for the president to follow the lead of George Washington and “pass the torch.”
“In passing the torch now, President Biden has a chance to live up to this standard and seal his place in history as one of the greatest leaders our nation, and history, has ever known,” said Schneider, who noted he was the first member of Illinois’ congressional delegation to back Biden in the 2020 race.
“He can lead the transition of power to a new generation that can build a stronger party and a stronger nation,” Schneider said. “I fear if he fails to make the right choice, our democracy will hang in the balance.”
Schneider’s comments stood in stark contrast to public pronouncements of support for Biden earlier this week from two other leading Illinois Democrats: Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, both of whom have remained steadfastly in Biden’s corner.
Schneider is facing a challenge from Republican Jim Carris of Lake Forest in November.
Schneider has been the focus of protests and vandalism at his Washington, D.C. office in recent weeks.
Pro-Palestinian protesters late last month gathered outside his Highland Park home in the early hours in a demonstration he compared to a Ku Klux Klan rally. The protesters are opposed to Schneider’s positions regarding the war between Israel and Hamas.
Last week, in a scene Schneider described on social media as “a vile act of hate,” posters of Gaza hostages displayed outside the north suburban congressman’s Washington office were vandalized. Schneider, who is Jewish, wrote that vandalism of images of Gaza hostages was “un-American” and “a shameful act on any day, but especially on July 4, our country’s Independence Day.”
Late last week, Quigley encouraged Biden to drop his bid for a second term, saying, “Mr. President, your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this,” during an interview on MSNBC’s “All in with Chris Hayes.
Biden has insisted he is not leaving the race and was scheduled to hold a news conference Thursday evening as he continues to fend off calls for him to step aside as the party’s nominee.
