West Michigan Congresswoman Hillary Scholten called for President Joe Biden to drop out of the race for President. She is the first Democratic U.S. Representative from Michigan to do so. She spoke Friday afternoon with Michigan Public's Zoe Clark.
Zoe Clark: So, why now?
Rep. Hillary Scholten: You know, this was such a critical time to speak up. We have a narrowly closing window in which we actually can make a change. Over the last few weeks, I have heard overwhelmingly from constituents who have grown concerned about our ability to be able to defeat Donald Trump with Joe Biden at the top of the ticket. And I could not ignore those calls.
I've worked steadily for the last two weeks raising those concerns. You know, this is not about the past. Joe Biden has an incredible lifelong record of service that anyone could be proud of. But this is not about the past. It's about the future and about making sure that we have the best possible person at the top of the ticket in 2024 and governing into 2025 and beyond.
ZC: Have you felt this way since the debate, or has something specifically changed more recently?
HS: It really was the debate. I think that solidified the concerns that a lot of people have had about the president's age and ability to continue for the next four years. That is really what is before us and what I think a lot of people miss, even folks who are saying, 'Well, he did a great job, you know, last night at the NATO press conference.' I was proud, you know, to see that he was able to answer a lot of those questions. But there are concerns about things like what happened at the debate that day. But what about the next four years? And that's what an election is about.
You know, particularly the next generation of voters who are feeling increasingly disillusioned with American politics and feel like no one is listening to them, I want them to know: I hear you, and I'm not giving up.
ZC: Is it an accurate assessment that there are Democrats in D.C., elected officials, who feel this way privately, who just simply will not say it publicly?
HS: You know, I can't speak for my colleagues. That is their choice to make. But I know that I did not want to be among the people who were harboring these concerns in private, but unwilling to bring them up publicly.
ZC: Is there a time frame that you think needs to happen in terms of when a decision is made by Democrats?
HS: You know, as I said in my statement, and it's so important to keep in mind at this stage: the decision rests with Joe Biden and Joe Biden alone. He can only release the delegates to make this type of a decision at the convention. And so that is the way the process would move forward. But we can have a democratic process to determine who would be the best representative to get those delegates.
I have spent the last several weeks talking with convention experts, election law experts, FEC [Federal Elections Commission] experts about how this would all work going forward. This is not just wishcasting, you know, for a change. This is a very pragmatic, well-thought-out statement that addresses the concerns before us. And so I would want to see us make a change before we go to the convention so that we can use that democratic process in selecting a new nominee.
ZC: I'm curious about the Democratic voters in your district who really want Biden to remain in the race. What do you say to them?
HS: Yeah. You know, I hear from those individuals as well. And, you know, I think there are a lot of people who say, I want Joe Biden to remain in the race because I think he's going to be the best one going forward.
There are some people, many of whom say, I want him to remain in the race because we don't have another alternative. And that was what I have spent the last two weeks exploring, is whether and to what extent we could select a different alternative, and was surprised to learn, yes, there is actually a way going forward that we can do that. And that was why I wanted to speak up at this time, while there was still time to make a change.
You know, this has nothing to do with Joe Biden's past, with his incredible record. You know, my statement took time in the very first part of the statement to lay out all of the incredible accomplishments, the things he's given to his country.
He has an opportunity to be a hero. He was a hero once for this country in 2020, when he saved us from the rising tide of authoritarian rule under Donald Trump, and he has the opportunity to do that now, again, in a different way: by stepping aside and fulfilling his promise to be a bridge to the next generation of leadership.
