Vance Demands Biden Step Down: ‘If You Can’t Run, You Can’t Serve’
Vice presidential candidate Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio) is urging President Joe Biden to resign after being persuaded by members of his own party to end his reelection campaign due to concerns about his mental sharpness.
Vance, who was selected by former President Donald Trump as his running mate during the first day of the Republican National Convention this month, argued that if Biden is deemed unfit to run for office because of cognitive issues, he should also step down from his current role as president.
"Everyone calling on Joe Biden to stop running without also calling on him to resign the presidency is engaged in an absurd level of cynicism,” Vance posted on the X platform. “If you can’t run, you can’t serve. He should resign now.”
In a July speech, however, Biden stated that he intends to complete his term, which concludes on Jan. 20, 2025.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to suspend his campaign and endorse former President Donald Trump for the presidency has created a challenging situation for Vice President Kamala Harris.
Although Kennedy, an independent candidate, was polling at only around 5 percent nationwide, that small percentage could be crucial in a close race between the two main candidates, as reported by The New York Post.
“Most of Kennedy’s left-leaning support had already dispersed to Harris,” Cook Political Report senior editor and elections analyst Dave Wasserman told The Post. “So this could represent a meaningful benefit for Trump.”
“We’re talking probably a fraction of a point in our survey from August in battleground states,” he added. “Forty-six percent of RFK supporters went with Trump in a two-way race, 26% went with Harris, and Kennedy’s support had collapsed from 8% to 5% nationally.”
“Campaigns would spend hundreds of millions of dollars for a fraction of a point given how tight the margins are in these battleground states,” he said, referencing the slim margins seen in 2020, particularly in Arizona and Georgia.
“RFK’s endorsement won’t move all his supporters to Trump,” he noted. “We’re in a very volatile environment right now, and it could remain that way through the election.”
Chris Lane, a pollster for Cygnal, pointed out that “among swing voters who will ultimately decide this election, 16% indicated they were going to vote for RFK.”
“With margins in battleground states being razor-thin, that 16% could represent the difference between winning and losing a state,” he said. “If RFK encourages his supporters to vote for Trump, it could have a massive impact and change the calculus for both Trump and Harris, especially in battleground states.”
“Add in the fact that those 16% are more center-right than anything, and will ultimately add to Trump’s ballot share,” he explained. “Our data shows 4:1, these swing voters were more likely to call themselves conservatives than liberals.”
Even anti-Trump pollster Frank Luntz acknowledged that the RFK endorsement could be pivotal in the election.
“It’s probably worth about 1% for Trump, and that 1% could be everything if it’s in the swing states. In the end, the reason why Kennedy was drawing 10, 12, even as high as 14% is because he was taking votes away from Joe Biden. Joe Biden’s gone. Kamala Harris has replaced him, and [RFK’s] vote collapsed down to about 4 or 5%, and what’s left is a Trump vote,” Luntz said during an appearance on NewsNation, where he spoke with host Leland Vittert.
“Some of them are simply not going to participate in November. Roughly two to one, the ones who are remaining will vote for Trump over Harris, and that’s worth a single percent, and that single percent can make the difference in Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Wisconsin,” Luntz added.
Luntz also criticized the media’s reaction to RFK’s endorsement.
“If he had endorsed Harris, I do think he would be regarded as a hero, but because he endorsed Trump, the people who are communicating that are not giving him the credit that he deserves, and I think we have to be careful in the last 73 days of this election campaign to understand the motivations of the people providing us information,” said Luntz.
Scott Rasmussen, the founder of Rasmussen Reports, mentioned that recent polling indicates a “slight” advantage for the former president.
“RMG Research polling for the Napolitan Institute this week showed Harris up 2 points 48% to 46% with RFK in the mix at 3%. When we pushed the RFK voters to make a choice, the race was tied at 49% to 49%,” Rasmussen said.
“While that suggests a slight boost for Trump, there are many other factors that could have a more significant impact on the race—especially the debate and economic trends,” he added.
“However, in recent years, we’ve had the Electoral College winner determined by a relatively small number of votes in a few swing states,” he noted. “If that happens again, any blip in support from RFK voters could be important.”