SUITLAND, Maryland — Maryland Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan on Tuesday suggested President Joe Biden should withdraw for reelection over concerns about his mental acuity and the “ability to be the leader of the free world.”
Hogan, the centrist former two-term GOP governor, told the Washington Examiner during a campaign stop to meet with veterans that Biden is “not the same guy that he used to be” as a political firestorm rages over the 81-year-old’s capacity to serve another term.
“I've said for a long time that I thought it would be in Joe Biden's best interest, his family's best interest, the Democratic Party, and the country if they found a different nominee," Hogan said. “I have a lot of respect for Biden. I worked with him when he was vice president. But no, he's not the same guy that he used to be.”
Hogan, 68, has vowed not to vote for Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, the former president with whom he’s long beefed with publicly. Hogan reiterated he’ll work with whoever is elected president but questioned if Biden, who would be 86 at the end of a second term, could muster another four years as commander in chief. Biden's eyebrow-raising debate performance against Trump last month laid bare how the president has aged in recent years.
“It's a decision for Joe Biden to make personally with his family, and for the Democratic Party. It's not really for me to say,” Hogan said. “I'll work with anybody, whoever's elected president. But I'm very concerned about his ability to be the leader of the free world.”
Hogan expressed early concerns about Biden’s strength as a candidate in 2023 prior to his eleventh-hour Senate bid launched earlier this year. But his latest unease more seriously challenged the president’s capabilities.
Hogan’s heated Senate fight in deep-blue Maryland against Democratic nominee Angela Alsobrooks could help determine party control of the chamber, which is currently held by Democrats with a one-seat majority. He’ll need to coalesce centrist Democrats and independents, in addition to Republicans, if he hopes to turn a Maryland Senate seat red for the first time in some 40 years.
Hogan and Alsobrooks are running to replace retiring Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD), chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
A growing chorus of Democrats are working both behind the scenes and publicly to oust Biden from the top of the ticket out of fears of losing to Trump.
Alsobrooks, who serves as Prince George’s County executive, has stood by Biden in recent public statements as the party fractures over the president’s political future. But even before the president's disastrous debate, she’s steered closest on the campaign trail to Vice President Kamala Harris, who has stumped for Alsobrooks.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Biden defended his cognitive health Monday but said he understands why people are asking “legitimate” questions about his age and fitness.
"I’m old,” the president told NBC's Lester Holt. “But I’m only three years older than Trump, number one. And number two, my mental acuity has been pretty damn good. I’ve gotten more done than any president has in a long time in 3 1/2 years. I’m willing to be judged on that."
Most Popular
Comments / 0