By Diyar Guldogan
WASHINGTON (AA) - Rep. Raul Grijalva on Wednesday called on US President Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race following his poor performance in last week’s debate against Donald Trump.
"If he’s the candidate, I’m going to support him, but I think that this is an opportunity to look elsewhere," Grijalva told The New York Times, becoming the second Democrat in the House of Representatives following Rep. Lloyd Doggett to urge Biden to step down.
"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," Grijalva was quoted as saying.
The White House on Wednesday made it clear that Biden is not considering dropping out of the race.
"Absolutely not," spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters when asked if Biden is considering leaving. "And you heard directly from the campaign as well."
Asked if there is discussion if Biden would resign if he suspended his campaign, the spokeswoman responded: "Absolutely not."
Biden acknowledged age and his bad performance in the debate and said Friday it was "hard to debate a liar," referring to Trump.