On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “All In,” Rep. Mike Quigley (D-IL) urged President Joe Biden “to step down and let someone else do this.” And acknowledged that “[F]our years ago, you saw a different Joe Biden.”
Host Chris Hayes asked, “Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-AZ), Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA), and Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) have explicitly said on the record they think the President should step aside and allow someone else to run. Do you agree with them?”
Quigley responded, “I started the week doing an interview where I was talking about everything else, and then this came up, and I asked for help to get the words out. And I couldn’t help — because it’s like talking to a loved one about such a tough situation. A man who pulled us out of COVID, who pulled us out of an autocracy, who did so many great things, how do you tell that person, you can’t do this anymore? So, the way I started it was by thanking him, showing them that deference, and suggesting that his decision isn’t just going to affect who sits in the White House for the next four years, but who controls the House and the Senate. These races are razor-thin, those frontline seats. And, of course, the House and the Senate are decided by single digits, and all of these critical votes, everyone cares so much. So, I would say to those folks who say everything’s fine, it’s not, and everything you care about is on the line, and you have to be realistic and you have to be tough. So, my — the way I say this has probably changed since that day, just because I’ve had time to accept this and then to look at the polls and if I talked to the President, I would say something different.”
Hayes then followed up, “But you didn’t answer the question. Do you agree with Raúl Grijalva, Lloyd Doggett, and Seth Moulton, the President should step aside?”
Quigley answered, “I had a hard time processing, getting to that point with him, as I think anybody would who respects him so much. I would say, Mr. President, your legacy is set. We owe you the greatest debt of gratitude. The only thing that you can do now to cement that for all time and prevent utter catastrophe is to step down and let someone else do this. Because I think, day one, we’re back in a dogfight. All of a sudden, all of the things we’re talking about with President Biden, we’ve got a lot more we can talk about with Trump, not just that he lied 28 times during the debate and that he’s an absolute monster, but he has cognitive issues, something that Speaker Emeritus Pelosi (D-CA) brought up earlier this week. She’s absolutely right.”
Quigley concluded, “[F]our years ago, you saw a different Joe Biden.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
