A new national campaign called Step Aside Joe launched on Thursday to urge President Joe Biden to reconsider his run for a second term. Serving as an extension of the Don’t Run Joe campaign, also co-sponsored by RootsAction.org, the renewed effort will make the case that – by recognizing the deep vulnerabilities of his candidacy and stepping aside – Biden would provide an opportunity for a more vibrant, more progressive and stronger candidate to emerge as the Democratic Party’s 2024 standard bearer against the neo-fascist Republican Party.

Step Aside Joe leaders said in a statement: “As the 2024 election has neared, Biden has tacked increasingly to the right and toward corporate donors in pursuit of mythologized swing voters, while alienating the younger voters, people of color, and working-class voters who defeated Donald Trump in 2020. Biden said he would be a steward of the environment, but he has repeatedly given the green light to fossil fuel drilling and pipeline construction, among several new projects in recent months. Biden said he would be a champion for working Americans, but has sided with corporations over workers in labor disputes. And, while Biden hesitantly promised to create student debt relief, his half-hearted proposals have failed to help the millions of Americans still buried under student loan debt.”

The statement added: “On top of this, Biden’s approval rating has slipped into perilous territory; this spring, his approval rating bottomed out at 37 percent, placing him in worse straits than Donald Trump and Jimmy Carter, both one-term presidents. Recent surveys have shown that most Democrats want to see a different nominee at the top of the ticket in 2024, and only about 25 percent of all voters want Biden to seek a second term.”

The Step Aside Joe campaign contends that, “with low approval ratings and an uninspiring record on important policies that could animate the Democratic base, it’s evident that Joe Biden faces a steep climb to reelection.”

“The stakes couldn’t be higher,” says RootsAction political director Sam Rosenthal. “Republican candidates for president are promising to usher in an era of extreme repression and regression. We need a stronger Democratic nominee to ensure that a neo-fascist does not move into the White House in January 2025.” 

For further information, contact RootsAction co-founders:

Jeff Cohen, jeff [at] rootsaction.org

Norman Solomon, norman [at] rootsaction.org

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