Biden Announces Decision to Step Aside as Democratic Presidential Nominee
Coons: "Historic Moment" as Biden Chooses to Step Aside "in the Best Interest of the Country"
Calls for Biden to Step Down Began After Debate Performance
President Biden announced Sunday that he will step aside as the Democratic presidential nominee, a move that comes amid growing calls from within his own party for him to do so.
Delaware senator Chris Coons, a long-time confidant of Biden and the co-chair of the Biden-Harris campaign, spoke to CBS after the announcement, calling it "a historic moment where our president is choosing to step aside in the best interest of the country."
Calls for Biden to step down began in the hours after the Democratic primary debate on Thursday, when Biden's performance was widely criticized. Aides to Biden reportedly reached out to worried Democrats facing reelection in the fall to assure them that Biden would not be the nominee.
As for Biden's decision to step down, Coons noted that Biden "has always put the country first," and that this move is "evidence of that commitment."
Nancy Mace, a Republican congresswoman from South Carolina, has said she will introduce a resolution on Monday calling on Vice President Kamala Harris to invoke the 25th Amendment to force Biden to step down.
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