GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A Michigan State Representative is calling for President Biden to step aside and let a new candidate for president take his spot on the Democratic ticket this November.
The call for Biden to step down as the presidential candidate comes after a poor debate performance last month against former President Donald Trump. Since the debate, Biden has been trying to rehabilitate his campaign amidst calls from his own party to step aside.
80th House District Representative Phil Skaggs, representing part of Kent County, has joined that call after he took to X (formerly known as twitter) Tuesday to posted a thread asking for Biden to "pass the torch" to a younger generation of leaders ahead of the general election.
"Reluctantly, but after much deliberation, the time has come for me to speak from the heart," Skaggs wrote. "I’ve reached the conclusion that the time has come for President Biden to be that bridge to a new generation of Democratic leaders and pass them the torch so we can defeat Donald Trump."
Skaggs went on to tout Biden's accomplishments during his time in office, pointing to the end of the pandemic, the economy, infrastructure improvements and more. But despite what Skaggs views as Biden's accomplishments, he wrote that he doesn't believe Biden is capable of convincing Americans to vote for him in the fall.
"Biden’s inability to be an effective communicator is troubling," Skaggs wrote. "We all hoped to see the president demonstrate the sharpness necessary to lead a winning campaign. But, we didn’t. It was heartbreaking. But, the images from the debate are now indelible in the public consciousness."
Skaggs didn't directly name a successor who he believed would be able to carry the Democratic ticket this November, but he did allude to the "new generation of Democratic leaders" being the likes of Gretchen Whitmer, Kamala Harris and Cory Booker, whom Biden spoke about in March of 2020 as a candidate in Detroit.
Skaggs' call for the president to step aside joins a number of Democratic lawmakers and donors around the country that have expressed their concerns.
It also comes, however, as some high-profile party leaders in this key battleground state have rallied behind the president as he's hoped to carry on his bid.
"I don't foresee any change in this race, and the president and vice president have my full support," Gov. Gretchen Whitmer told ABC's Good Morning America on Tuesday.
"[Biden] is a president who's taken action, and I don't think we've had a better president in our lifetime for Michigan," outgoing Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) said last week following a trip to Middleville alongside First Lady Dr. Jill Biden.
Despite Skaggs' hope that Biden will step down as the Democratic candidate for president, he is still putting his hopes behind a Democrat winning in November.
"Make no mistake, I will be supporting the Democratic Nominee for President of the United States with all my heart and soul, but I feel compelled to do my all to ensure that we have a nominee with the best possible chance to win this fall," Skaggs concluded.
President Biden is scheduled to make his fourth stop in Michigan this year when he visits Detroit on Friday.
You can read the entire thread from Rep. Skaggs on X here.
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