Hispanic Caucus member asks Biden to drop out on Zoom call

A meeting between Hispanic House Democrats and President Biden ended somewhat awkwardly Friday, as one member used his question to ask the president point blank to drop out of the race.

Bold PAC, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) campaign arm, organized the call with time for two questions, but Biden spontaneously took a third.

Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) used the opportunity to ask Biden to step down from the presidential race against former President Trump.

According to multiple sources, Levin’s request was calm and preambled with praise for Biden and his agenda but based on interactions with constituents in his district.

In his response, Biden explained why his public engagements have ballooned over the past few weeks.

"That's why I'm going out and letting people touch me, poke me, ask me questions. I think I know what I’m doing — because the truth of the matter is — I'm going to say something outrageous — no president in three years has done what we have in three years other than Franklin Roosevelt, because of your help. That’s not hyperbole, that’s a fact. No president,” said Biden, according to a source familiar with the conversation.

“And so that doesn't answer the question. That’s — that was great when you were feeling good, Biden, are you OK now? 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.' It's a legitimate concern for people, but that's why I think it's important I gotta get out and show people everything from how well I move to how much I know and that I'm still in good charge."

After the call, Levin released a statement praising Biden but asking him to “pass the torch.”

“We must prevail against the incalculable threat Donald Trump poses to the American institutions of freedom and democracy. Donald Trump actively seeks a bleak authoritarianism and the overthrow of the values which have guided us towards justice and prosperity for nearly two and a half centuries,” Levin said in his statement.

“Once again, our national mettle must be forged in the crucible of history. It is time to move forward. With a new leader. Together.”

Since Biden’s debate against Trump last month, insider sentiment about Biden’s viability as a candidate has seesawed along with his performances at public events, but a steady trickle of Democrats has joined calls for him to drop out.

Biden’s performance at a solo press conference after the NATO summit in Washington on Thursday calmed fears that the president had lost a step in his grip of policy issues, but his verbal flubs and inconsistent delivery maintained questions about his ability to communicate his administration’s accomplishments.

Biden’s schedule Friday included the CHC meeting and a later meeting with the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, which was scheduled to start about an hour before the CHC meeting wrapped up.

"Today, CHC Bold PAC had a positive call where we heard the latest from President Biden on the state of the November election," CHC Chair Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-Calif.) said. "The President answered our questions and thanked us for supporting him and for the critical role we have in working to reelect him,"

"President Biden has my unwavering support and I believe he is the best candidate who can beat Trump’s hateful anti-American rhetoric," Barragán added.

The call’s host, Bold PAC Chair Rep. Linda Sánchez (D-Calif.), ended the meeting after Biden’s response to Levin, referencing the president’s upcoming appointment.

“Again, Mr. President, we want to thank you for being very generous with your time. That will be the last question for today, but we know that you have another engagement with some of our colleagues from the AAPI community,” Sánchez said.

Several senior CHC members, including Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) — who was the second Democrat and first CHC member to call for Biden to withdraw — did not attend the call because of travel or other reasons.

Many CHC members after the call said they were pleased with the content of the meeting, less so with the leak about Levin’s interaction with Biden.

According to Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas), who also serves as a Biden-Harris campaign co-chair, Reps. Sylvia Garcia (D-Texas) and Lou Correa (D-Calif.) were the first Bold PAC members to ask Sánchez for a spot on the queue.

“She stated that they would be the two people who definitely would get to ask their questions. But the chairwoman kept a list of all the members who put their hands up in the call and who wanted to ask questions. And in fact, at one point during the conversation, she announced who was in the queue,” Escobar said.

Correa, a member of the “Three Amigos” who has butted heads against Democratic leadership on immigration issues, pressed on Biden the importance of finding a path to citizenship for long-term undocumented immigrants.

“We need your help, Mr. President. We need your help with the Latino voters. Again, we need from you a strong message of hope,” said Correa, according to a source familiar with the conversation.

“They need hope of becoming Americans. I ask you to, in your messaging, to talk to these families and say to them, there is a pathway in my second administration for all of you that have been here for decades, that have followed the laws, that have paid taxes to be part of the American Dream, sir,” he later added.

Biden, whose standing with immigration advocates in the CHC rose substantially with June’s announcement of immigration relief for undocumented spouses of U.S. citizens, responded with a pitch for the bipartisan border deal — not popular with that crowd but a dig on Trump — and the immensely CHC-friendly immigration relief package.

“Look, you know, I strongly agree with every word you just said, not a joke. I'm being deadly earnest. And one of the things I tried to get, with all of your help, we tried to get that compromise that was, got through, that bipartisan compromise that was negotiated for weeks and weeks. And Trump decided that that was going to benefit us, so he said scuttle it. And all these guys from before backed away,” Biden said. 

“We're in a situation where, that's why I used the executive action, for example, to make sure that over a million Latinos who are married to an American citizen are, get complete access to citizenship, and get — you get a green card, now. And it's going to change the dynamic in a big way.”

But the anonymous leak laid bare divisions within the CHC, a group that has had extreme ups and downs in terms of member unity.

“It's disheartening that we have members who would undermine Linda’s leadership, who would undermine their colleagues and who would undermine the president. I mean, honestly, all of this helps Donald Trump,” Escobar said.

Mychael Schnell contributed to this report.