Hispanic Democratic lawmakers' support for Biden cracks: "It's time to move forward with a new leader"
Rep. Mike Levin called on the president to step aside at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus meeting which was described as going "haywire" by one attendee.
Joe Biden with Hispanic representative Mike Levin and his wife
Biden needs the Hispanic vote. Recent polls indicate that the group, which traditionally votes Democratic, is turning away from the party. To win back this electorate of 36 million potential voters, the president is counting on the ace of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), a conference of Hispanic lawmakers who can talk one-on-one with the community. Or was counting on it, until Friday.
The president continued his tour of private meetings with donors, politicians and influential Democratic Party figures this week to try to assuage concerns about his health and his poor showing in the polls. On Friday it was the turn of the CHC. During a Zoom call with congressmen in the conference, California Rep. Mike Levine called on Biden to drop out of the presidential race. The "haywire" meeting, as one attendee described it to Axios, ended shortly thereafter.
According to various reports of the meeting, the intervention of the congressman with a U.S.-Mexican mother was not planned. Biden agreed to answer a third question in promptu after two queries apparently pre-selected with the intention of maintaining a relaxed atmosphere by the organizer.
After the president's reply to the request that he step aside, Levine protested that he had not really responded to him, according to a transcript of an exchange published by The Hill. "Biden, are you OK now?," he maintained, "That’s what’s underlying. That’s what people are worried about. ‘I’ve got a grandfather who’s 85 years old and he can’t walk.."
After the meeting, Levin posted a video on his social networks reiterating his request: "It's time to move forward with a new leader, together." After praising the president's administration, he explained that his stance stems from conversations with "several hundred" Democratic supporters since the presidential debate.
With those statements, the California lawmaker joined 18 other representatives and a senator from the ruling party who publicly hinted or asked the president to drop out of the race.
A divided caucus
The other two representatives who spoke, Lou Correa and Sylvia Garcia, are known to be fervent supporters of the president. According to an anonymous source cited by Axios, several representatives from purple districts - such as Levine's own - clicked on Zoom's 'raise your hand' option to participate in the dialogue. But someone took them down.
Congresswoman Veronica Escobar, present at the meeting, maintained that it was clear before the meeting that only the two preselected congressmen would speak. Escobar is co-chair of the Biden-Harris campaign and participated in the launch of the Latinos con Biden, to capture Latino support. After the meeting, he published a message of support for the president:
California Senator Alex Padilla did the same:
On Tuesday, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus announced its official endorsement of the president. Just four days later, this unanimous support began to crack.
The group's social networks and website, which at the time echoed the endorsement, remain silent within hours of the end of the call.
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