Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank), who is running for U.S. Senate in California, is calling on President Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, he said in an exclusive statement to The Times on Wednesday.
Schiff, who is strongly confident of winning his Senate race, cited “serious concerns” that Biden can defeat former President Trump in November.
He is the latest Democrat to call on his own party’s incumbent president to end his campaign amid growing concerns about Biden’s age and mental fitness to do the job. Those concerns began in earnest after a disastrous debate performance last month, in which Biden at times appeared confused.
In his statement, Schiff said Biden “has been one of the most influential presidents in our country’s history, and his lifelong service as senator, vice president, and now president has made our country better.”
Newsletter
Sign up for Essential California
The most important news from California, delivered to your inbox every morning
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
“But our country is at a crossroads,” he said. “A second Trump presidency will undermine the foundation of our democracy, and I have grave concerns about whether the President can defeat Donald Trump in November.”
Schiff said the “choice to withdraw from the campaign is President Biden’s choice alone,” but that he believes it is time for Biden “to pass the torch” and “secure his legacy of leadership” by having another Democrat defeat Trump.
Schiff also said he will fully support whichever candidate comes out on top of the Democratic ticket, even if that remains Biden.
“I will do everything I can to help them succeed,” Schiff said. “There is only one goal: defeat Donald Trump. The stakes are just too high.”
Schiff is running in the Senate seat long held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat, and currently held by Sen. Laphonza Butler, a Newsom appointee who will serve out the remainder of Feinstein’s term after her death in September.
Schiff — who has been a prominent critic of Trump and was a leader in Congress’s efforts to impeach him — is expected to win the race in November. He will face retired Dodgers All-Star Steve Garvey, a Republican, after defeating other leading Democratic candidates for the seat in a crowded primary earlier this year.