Blaze News original: Both sides besiege Biden as political firestorm roils his re-election bid

President Joe Biden's re-election bid is being roiled by a political firestorm following his widely panned debate performance, with some on the political right calling for his removal per the 25th Amendment and some on the political left calling for him to bow out of the presidential race — but the presumptive 2024 Democratic presidential nominee has adamantly declared that he will remain in the contest.

The day after the debate, Republican Reps. Chip Roy of Texas and Clay Higgins of Louisiana put forward a resolution that urges Vice President Kamala Harris to seek to have Biden declared incapable of executing the duties of the presidency, per the 25th Amendment.

'I happen to think that the right thing here is actually the right political thing.'

The text of the resolution declares that the House calls on Harris "to immediately use her powers under section 4 of the 25th Amendment to convene and mobilize the principal officers of the executive departments in the Cabinet to declare that President Joseph R. Biden is unable to discharge the duties and powers of the office," as well as "to transmit to the President pro tempore of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives notice that she will be immediately assuming the powers and duties of the office as Acting President."

Biden, the oldest president in U.S. history, is already 81 years old and would be 86 by the end of a second term in office.

While speaking to Blaze News, Roy suggested that the vice president, first lady, others, and likely many members of the Cabinet "are all complicit in ... a conspiracy to" conceal from Americans the president's "mental state."

The conservative congressman told Blaze News that he thinks "the right thing here is actually the right political thing." He noted that he believes in doing what is right and letting "politics follow" but said "they align" in this case.

GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah tweeted, "What the Constitution requires doesn't always align both with what is politically expedient and with what national security demands. It does here. @ChipRoyTX is right. We should call on Vice President Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment."

Roy has even floated the idea of impeaching Biden, declaring in a post on X, "We should / would be on solid ground to impeach Joe Biden for lying to the American people about his supposed competence (perhaps we should consider that too)."

In another post, the lawmaker suggested that the vice president "could be impeached for lying to America & covering up" and said, "The @HouseGOP should subpoena @KamalaHarris, Jill Biden, & key White House staff to determine when they knew that @JoeBiden is senile."

Blaze Media's Daniel Horowitz told Blaze News that Republicans should refuse to fund the government until Biden is no longer in power.

"This needs to be about the entire Democrat Party lying to the American people for four years, and the Chip resolution drives home that point. I would also add that Republicans would be wise to engage in a budget battle over this point and make it clear throughout the summer that they will not fund the budget until Biden steps down," Horowitz said, adding that "we cannot fund a government run by a man who can't walk, think, or talk, holding the nuclear football codes."

Keith Malinak of BlazeTV's "Pat Gray Unleashed" also agrees that the 25th Amendment should be invoked.

"Joe Biden is a case study on when the Cabinet should pursue removal of a president under the 25th Amendment. To think there is any question is what I find baffling," Malinak told Blaze News in a statement.

"I appreciate Congressman Chip Roy for talking about this, but I'm doubtful the vice president will pursue this course until she has the assurances that party leadership and those actually calling the shots in this presidency will have her back in such an eventuality," he added.

'I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.'

Some on the political left have suggested that the president should abandon his re-election bid.

"I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw. I respectfully call on him to do so," Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas said in a statement.

"If he's the candidate, I'm going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere," Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva of Arizona said, according to the New York Times. "What he needs to do is shoulder the responsibility for keeping that seat — and part of that responsibility is to get out of this race."

Democratic Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts has said that Biden should "step aside to let new leaders rise up and run against Donald Trump," according to WBUR.org.

Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois suggested that to "prevent utter catastophe" Biden should "step down and let someone else do this."

Democratic Rep. Angie Craig of Minnesota said in a statement, "Given what I saw and heard from the president during last week's debate in Atlanta, coupled with the lack of a forceful response from the president himself following that debate, I do not believe that the president can effectively campaign and win against Donald Trump."

"I respectfully call on President Biden to step aside as the Democratic nominee for a second term as president and allow for a new generation of leaders to step forward," Craig declared.

But not all Democratic lawmakers have soured on Biden's candidacy.

Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has remained a stalwart supporter of the president's re-election bid.

"I'm unwilling to discard a great president, a decent man and a loving father after 50 years in public service, over a 90 minute debate. Responding with disorder, panic and disloyalty is not meeting this moment," the senator said in a tweet.

Some Democratic donors have also called for Biden to drop out.

The New York Times reported that Abigail Disney said the president's campaign and committees backing it, including the Democratic National Committee, super PACs, and nonprofit organizations, "will not receive another dime from me until they bite the bullet and replace Biden at the top of the ticket."

"Biden is unfortunately in denial about his mental state. He needs to step aside to let a vigorous Democratic leader beat Trump," Netflix CEO Reed Hastings declared, according to ABC News.

Even the outlet's editorial board wrote a piece titled "To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race."

But Biden has said he will remain in the race.

'Let them live with the consequences of their own actions.'

BlazeTV host Sara Gonzales has expressed the view that conservatives will benefit politically if Biden keeps running.

"The greatest way to ensure a conservative victory in November is for Joe Biden to continue running. On top of that, every single Democrat now raising faux concerns about Biden's cognitive abilities knew exactly how bad he had gotten when they called us 'conspiracy theorists' and accused us of putting out deepfakes and 'cheapfakes' showing Biden's decline just weeks ago. Let them live with the consequences of their own actions. They insisted Joe is their guy. Who are we to prevent that from happening?" she wrote in a statement to Blaze News.

But BlazeTV host Steve Deace believes Biden should be removed from office immediately.

"We simply cannot have someone who couldn't pass a corporate management competency hearing, be certified to become a foster parent, or even obtain a driver's license be the one who is in possession of the nuclear codes. Full stop," Deace wrote in an opinion piece. "Yes, it is a hard pill to swallow, but it is an act of patriotic duty to remove Joe Biden from office right now. Because this is fundamentally about far more than one incapacitated man. It is about who we are called to be as a free people, and it may even be about our very survival."

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