Former California Sen. Barbara Boxer (D) on Thursday bashed lawmakers who have called for President Biden to drop out of the race after last week’s presidential debate against former President Trump.
“I disagree with these members who are coming on TV for their five minutes of fame and pushing out a man who has been one of the greatest presidents since FDR,” Boxer said during an interview on CNN.
Boxer previously told Los Angeles Times columnist Mark Barabak that the president should get two weeks to prove to the American people that he’s up for the job and that the shaky debate performance was a fluke.
“There are two schools of thought. My school of thought is show us the comeback,” Boxer told CNN.
She referred to Trump, Biden’s Republican opponent in the November election, as the “true threat.”
While the party has largely stayed publicly united behind Biden after what the White House has admitted was a “bad” debate performance, some members have broken with the establishment and urged the president to end his reelection bid.
Reps. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) and Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) publicly called on Biden to drop out of the race earlier this week.
A third Democratic lawmaker, Rep. Seth Moulton (Mass.), said Thursday that the president should step aside “to let new leaders rise up.”
“Please spare me your five minutes of fame,” Boxer said. “Give this man a chance to pick himself up. He’s done it so many times.”