Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) said Wednesday that President Biden is “working towards” making a decision that is best for the country on whether to stay in the presidential race.
“Joe Biden has always put the country first. He’s done what’s best for America,” Hickenlooper, who had sought the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, told Reuters in a phone interview. “I think he’ll keep doing so.”
“He’s working towards that,” he added.
The senator did not explicitly call for Biden to step aside but said there was growing evidence that would support such a decision — if the president chose that path for himself.
“That’s his decision to make, but certainly there’s more and more indications that that would be in the best interests of the country, I think,” Hickenlooper told Reuters, when asked about Biden potentially stepping aside.
The interview comes amid renewed calls for Biden to withdraw and let another candidate, likely Vice President Harris, run against former President Trump in his stead.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), the former House Intelligence Committee chair and the leading candidate for a California Senate seat this November, became the highest-ranking House Democrat publicly to call on Biden to “pass the torch” Wednesday.
Reports then surfaced that former Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) have expressed concerns privately to Biden about his chances of winning this fall.
Hickenlooper praised the president and noted the “sorrow and anguish” Democrats feel in this moment.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize how beloved Joe Biden is and what sorrow and anguish people feel that he might not be the candidate. Even people who feel that he should not be the candidate feel a great sense of loss,” he said.
“He’s been one of the greatest presidents, perhaps the greatest president of my lifetime,” he added.
Hickenlooper said, however, that he’s hearing from constituents — not from elites or donors, as Biden and has team have suggested — that they want Biden to step aside.
“When there’s that much unease and that much dissatisfaction,” he said, “it is hard for anybody to be able to unite the party.”
“He is still beloved,” he continued. “It’s just not the same landscape that it was four years ago.”
The Hill has reached out to Hickenlooper for further comment.