Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat turned independent, urges Biden to withdraw from the 2024 race

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sen. Joe Manchin, a Democrat turned independent, urged President Joe Biden on Sunday to drop his reelection bid and focus on the remaining months of his presidency.

“I came to the decision with a heavy heart that I think it’s time to pass the torch to a new generation,” the West Virginia lawmaker told CNN’s ”State of the Union.”

Nearly three dozen Democrats in Congress have said it’s time for Biden to leave the race. Four Democratic senators — Peter Welch of Vermont, Jon Tester of Montana, Martin Heinrich of New Mexico and Sherrod Brown of Ohio — have said the Democratic president should abandon his reelection campaign against Republican Donald Trump.

Biden’s debate performance raised open questions about the 81-year-old’s ability to mount a convincing campaign to defeat Trump.

“I’m concerned about the president’s health and well-being I really am,” Manchin said on ABC’s “This Week.”

But as the president remains isolated at his beach house in Delaware after being diagnosed with COVID-19, he has said he is ready to return to campaign this week and counter a “dark vision” laid out by Trump. Biden has insisted he can defeat Trump in a rematch from 2020 and has been meeting with family and longtime aides as he resist effort to push him aside.

Nonetheless, Manchin said Biden should clear the way for other Democrats and spend the remainder of his term as “the president he always wanted to be, be able to unite the country, bring it back together, to be able to maybe spend all of his time on solving the problems in Gaza, bringing peace to Gaza and to the Middle East. Also being able to dedicate his time to enforcing, reinforcing Ukraine’s ability to defend and win their freedom, and then be able to show the rest of the world the orderly transfer of power from the superpower of the world.”

He also said, “I truly believe the Democratic Party needs an open process” in picking a new nominee. Manchin said he was not trying to have Kamala Harris, the vice president, replaced. “A healthy competition is what it’s all about,” Manchin said.

But the Democratic National Committee’s rulemaking arm is pressing ahead with plans for a virtual roll call before Aug. 7 to nominate the presidential pick, ahead of the party’s convention later in the month in Chicago.

Manchin, who became an independent in May after years as a Democrat, is not seeking reelection to the Senate

The Associated Press