Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres predicts President Joe Biden won't find "political salvation" in his solo press conference Thursday evening.
Following last month's catastrophic debate performance, the 36-year-old New York representative did not directly call on Biden to drop out of the race, but instead criticized the President's "continuing pattern of denial and self-delusion."
"The President did not just have one 'bad debate,'" Torres wrote on his personal X account earlier in the day. "The reality we saw with our own lying eyes is evidence of a deeper challenge."
The narrative that the President simply had one bad debate performance reflects a continuing pattern of denial and self-delusion.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) July 11, 2024
The President did not just have one “bad debate.” The reality we saw with our own lying eyes is evidence of a deeper challenge.
The notion that…
"The notion that the President is going to be saved by this interview or that press conference misses the forest for trees."
Torres said that while he plans to tune in to Biden's speech, "the ability to survive a single public appearance is the bare minimum of what should be expected of a Democratic Nominee. Neither the press conference tonight nor the NBC interview on Monday evening will offer the President the political salvation he seems to be seeking."
If Biden refuses to quit his campaign and formally accepts the Democratic nomination in August, the congressman suggested "we will have no choice but to make the best of a complicated situation."
So far, 12 House Democrats and one Senate Democrat have publicly called on Biden to bow out of the race.
Biden continues to maintain he is mentally and physically capable of seeing the election through, insisting in a letter he wrote to congressional Democrats on Monday that it's time to "end" the pressure on him to drop out, reported Axios.
Biden will speak to the American people after talking to NATO leaders Thursday at 6:30 p.m. You can watch it here.
