Sen. Peter Welch has become the first Democratic U.S. senator to call on President Joe Biden to withdraw from this year's presidential race.
In a Washington Post op-ed, Welch cited Biden's poor debate performance against former President Donald Trump.
Vermont Public's senior political correspondent Bob Kinzel spoke with Welch on Thursday afternoon about his decision and what it means for the 2024 presidential race. He started by asking the senator why he called on Biden to drop out now, about two weeks after the debate. This interview was produced for the ear. We highly recommend listening to the audio. We’ve also provided a transcript, which has been edited for length and clarity.
Peter Welch: Well, the bottom line here, we have to beat Trump. It's an existential challenge. He was a horrible president. He's got all these felony convictions. He's a threat to democracy. He wants to pardon the Jan. 6 insurrectionists. The list goes on.
President Biden, after the debate, the questions about his capacity, his fitness, they really did intensify. And let's step back here. You know, we love Joe Biden, especially in Vermont, where we gave him the highest percentage victory of any state in the union. And we honor him as a wonderful, empathetic and very caring person. And his legislative achievements, you've got to go back to L.B.J. But, the issue is winning the presidency and keeping Trump out of it, which is a real threat to democracy.
And what I saw at the debate is what we all saw, and that was not just an episode or a bad debate. It really appeared to be a physical situation or a condition. And, frankly, I think we just have to assess the situation and make a decision that's based on what's best for us to save our democracy.
"And what I saw at the debate is what we all saw, and that was not just an episode or a bad debate. It really appeared to be a physical situation or a condition. And, frankly, I think we just have to assess the situation and make a decision that's based on what's best for us to save our democracy."U.S. Sen. Peter Welch
Bob Kinzel: So if Biden stays in the race, do you feel that the focus of the campaign will then be on his health and not the policies of Trump, and that presents a major problem for the Democrats?
Peter Welch: Well, it does. It presents a huge problem, because clearly this was set — the hope was that it'd be a referendum on Trump: about his character, about his recklessness, about his self regard, about his felony convictions, about his radical plans as outlined in Project 2025.
But, you just think about the reality that, since the debate, even though all those things I just said about Trump are true, none of it is on the front page, or even in much discussion. It's all about the president's health, and will he have another event? Will he stumble? How's he going to do at this press conference?
So, we just can't afford to do anything other than our very best, and have our best candidate to be in a position to fight to save democracy. I believe that.
Bob Kinzel: You're the first Democratic senator to call for President Biden to withdraw from the race. Did that give you pause before announcing this?
Peter Welch: It gave me — I had pause anyway. I have an enormous respect for President Biden. So there's a personal affection I've had for him, and respect. There's a political appreciation for the work he's done, and what a wonderful president he's been. But I do feel that, bottom line, I have a responsibility, in this job, on behalf of Vermonters, to exercise my judgment. And my judgment was, we need a change if we're going to have a fighting chance to keep Trump out of the White House.
Bob Kinzel: You've said there's a risk if Biden stays in the race, and there's a risk if he withdraws and the Democrats need to find another candidate. So, tell me about those risks. How did you weigh them?
Peter Welch: Well, first of all, all the polling shows that after the debate, Biden's numbers, where he was already behind, went down significantly, especially in the battleground states.
The numbers also showed that the map has expanded. So where Democrats were going to have to — where we were going to be able, basically, to be pretty confident, we're now going to have to battle — like in New York, like in New Hampshire, like in Minnesota. So that really is a drag for us in our ability to get victory for Biden. So that's the risk of staying with President Biden.
The risk of opening it up is the unknown. But here's my assessment on that: One of the things we owe President Biden is that he unified the Democratic Party. And that's because his legislative agenda really included a lot of the economic, environmental and human rights issues that are of concern by Vermonters and by all American Democrats. So, I think if we have a contest where a number of people come forward that they want to run, it's going to be a contest about who can sell themselves as the best candidate to beat Trump, as opposed to, like the last convention in Chicago in 1968, where you had a pro-war and an anti-war division that was very intense and not reconcilable. So I think that there's actually real potential, because if there is an opportunity for a new person, that's an opportunity for folks who, really, were frustrated that they didn't have a new face to get behind.
"I think for us, particularly as a party, our primary goal has to be organizing for victory. Who is the best candidate that can help us win, particularly in those states that are so crucial for any victory? And that's Pennsylvania, it's Michigan and it's Wisconsin."U.S. Sen. Peter Welch
Bob Kinzel: So if there is an open convention, should the Democrats rally around Vice President Kamala Harris, or should other people consider running?
Peter Welch: Oh, I think we have to have an open process. In how best to do that — town hall meetings and so on. But I think that obviously, I think Vice President Harris is a very, very strong candidate. And if you had to ask me right now, I think she'd probably be the strongest.
But I think for us, particularly as a party, our primary goal has to be organizing for victory. Who is the best candidate that can help us win, particularly in those states that are so crucial for any victory? And that's Pennsylvania, it's Michigan and it's Wisconsin.
So the prospective folks who might come forward, I think, have to make a case, not just that they can win, but how can they win in those three states?
Bob Kinzel: So what do you think it's going to take to persuade the president and his campaign that he should withdraw from the race? And what's your role in making that happen?
Peter Welch: The hope is that, ultimately, the president, on the basis of evidence and polling, if it continues to show that it's sliding, that there'll be a willingness to make a clear-eyed assessment of what's best for the Democrats.
And where I've always had faith in Joe Biden, is that, you know, he's been through incredible personal tragedy, and incredible political setbacks. And he's always bounced back. And he's always had a cheerful and positive approach. But he's always made his decisions on the basis of what's best for the country.
And if he has to face the data and evidence, to some extent, some members of Congress making the suggestion as I did. Polling information, the shortage of campaign funds, where the contributions are diminishing — things that any candidate with a clear-eyed assessment has to do look at and take seriously.
Will that lead him to reconsider? And I don't know the answer to that. But I do think, I do believe that the most important thing we can do is keep Trump away from the Oval Office.
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