Schumer Dodges Questions About Urging Biden to Exit 2024 Race

On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) repeatedly dodged questions about whether he privately urged President Joe Biden to drop out of the 2024 race amid mounting concerns about Biden’s age, mental health, and electability following a poor debate performance.

During an appearance on CBS News’ “Face the Nation,” Schumer was pressed by reporter Robert Costa about a meeting he had with Biden just days before the President ended his campaign last weekend. According to ABC News’ Jonathan Karl, Schumer had "forcefully made the case" that Biden should “bow out” of the contest.

“Senator, on July 13, you went to Delaware to meet with President Biden. It was a private discussion and I know you’d like to keep your discussions with the president private,” Costa said. “But that, for history, was a very momentous meeting in the sense of you were the Senate Democratic leader, the majority leader meeting with the president to discuss the presidential race. For history, for the record, did you, in any way, suggest to the president that he should leave the presidential race on July 13?”

Schumer began his response by highlighting Biden’s accomplishments. “He’s had one of the most amazing presidencies we’ve had in decades,” Schumer said. “Passing so many good things: the infrastructure bill, the IRA bill, getting the price of prescription drugs down for the first time, going against the NRA successfully, helping our veterans with burn pits. So he’s had an amazingly successful record. And he’s always done what’s right for America. And I respect him, I respect his patriotism, I respect the amazing things he’s done. We work together on many of them.”

Costa continued to press Schumer. “But just for history, though, did you — what was your role, what was your intention with that meeting with him on July 13? Because some Biden allies feel hurt about this entire process,” Costa asked. “I just sat down the other day with Sen. Chris Coons, your colleague, and he said a lot of people feel hurt, angry about how this all played out and you did go to see him and conveyed the views of your colleagues based on our reporting. So what exactly happened there? What was your role, if any, in suggesting he get out or stay?”

Schumer avoided giving a direct answer. “As I said … yeah, I’m not going to get into the specifics. But he can — President Biden will walk away from the presidency with his head held high, because of all the great things he’s done and because he put America first, he always has,” Schumer concluded.

The repeated dodging of direct questions raises more speculation about internal Democratic Party discussions and Biden’s decision to step down. As the election season heats up, these revelations and their implications continue to stir debates within the political landscape.

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