Road to failure: Rep. Moulton renews call for Biden to step down

The North Shore congressman said the president’s performance at Thursday’s news conference did little to ease fears of a November defeat.

Jul 12, 2024 4:17 PM EDT | Updated Jul 12, 2024 4:19 PM EDT

SALEM, MA — Rep. U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton (D-Salem) remained blunt in his call for President Joe Biden to drop out of a presidential race he said is “on the path to failure” following a news conference Thursday in which Biden vowed to stay campaign and defeat former President Donald Trump for re-election.

Speaking Friday on WGBH-FM’s Boston Public Radio, Moulton said that while Biden’s latest public appearance “wasn’t a disaster … it can’t be the dam” to what is considered a successful campaign.

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“The president is not ahead,” Moulton said. “This is not a race to reckon with. He has to find his way back.

“Right now we’re on a losing streak. The stake is too high to allow Donald Trump another mandate”.

He said that privately, most Democrats in Washington have told him they think Biden should step down, even as Moulton remains one of a small group of representatives and senators to publicly call for Biden to step down.

“It’s time to be honest about this with my constituents and the president,” he said. “As a representative, I owe it to people to share my honest opinions with me.”

Moulton called Biden a mentor of his and said it was “painful” to make those statements, but that “this is bigger than one man.”

“This is not about President Biden,” he said. “It’s about winning this race.”

Moulton ran against Biden during the 2020 primaries, but withdrew early in the campaign when his candidacy failed to gain ground in a crowded field.

He did not endorse a replacement candidate, although he called Vice President Kamala Harris “underrated.”

Moulton concluded by saying that his call for Biden to drop the nomination is not based on his current ability to run the government, but only on how his age affects his chances of winning the election.

“We don’t like to talk about it, but we’re fundamentally talking about his age,” Moulton said. “Joe Biden is getting old. This is not going to get better.

“This election should be our easiest ever.”

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at [email protected]. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)