Manchin calls on Biden to step aside in 2024 to focus on being president and “leave with a legacy unmatched”

Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday joined a growing pool of lawmakers across party lines who are publicly calling for President Biden to remove himself from the 2024 race in the aftermath of the debate last month, telling “Face the Nation” he’s “hopeful” that “if a torch is passed to a new generation,” Mr. Biden can finish out his current term and “be the president I know he is and can be”

“I would like President Biden to be able to finish his five months of leading this country truly leading this country, the way I know he can,” Manchin said. “And if at this point in time, he would pass that torch, he would be able to focus all his energy towards the next five months of how do we heal?”

Manchin added that if Mr. Biden focused instead on the rest of his term on being president and not campaigning, “he would leave with a legacy unmatched.” 

Mr. Biden’s performance during the televised event with former President Donald Trump sparked panic throughout the Democratic Party, with some of its leading members now questioning whether he’s fit to be their nominee. The president’s recent COVID-19 diagnosis is also fueling those concerns.

“He will go down with a legacy unlike many people as one of the finest … and truly a patriot American,” Manchin said of Mr. Biden in an appearance on ABC’s “This Week” earlier Sunday morning. “So, with that, I come with a heavy heart to think the time has come for him. To pass the torch to a new generation.”

Manchin is technically registered as an independent, since announcing his exit from the Democratic Party in May. But the senator from West Virginia still caucuses with Democrats, as do his fellow independents in the chamber. He told “This Week” co-anchor Martha Raddatz that he hasn’t spoken to Mr. Biden in the last three weeks but is “concerned about the president’s health and well-being.”

“It’s concerning when you watch him,” said Manchin. While the senator said he believes Mr. Biden can complete his current term in office, “and finish the way he wanted to lead,” he thinks the president should end his reelection campaign and allow someone new to step in as the Democratic nominee.

“it’s time for a new generation to try to heal the party and heal the country,” he said.

His comments echoed similar calls from Democratic lawmakers who have called for Mr. Biden to drop his reelection bid. On Friday, nine House Democrats and two more Democratic senators — including key Biden ally Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, who is facing a tough reelection campaign — called on Mr. Biden to step aside in the 2024 race.