'Serious reckoning': Rep. Ritchie Torres questions 2024 Biden campaign

U.S. Rep. Ritchie Torres of New York is one of several Congressional Democrats heating up their rhetoric amid a party row over President Joe Biden’s viability in the upcoming 2024 election.

The Afro-Latino legislator has questioned the 81-year-old president’s fortitude on multiple occasions over the past year, including several times this week after Biden’s disastrous national debate performance on June 27. The showing, alongside successive public gaffes thereafter and swirling media reports on his mental health and the administration’s turmoil, has fueled rumblings inside the Beltway that he should step aside in favor of a more surefire candidate. 

Several Democrats in Congress have explicitly voiced their rejection of a Biden ticket, with at least one suggesting he should resign. Short of stating either, Torres called on Jul 10 for a “reckoning” in the face of ghastly poll numbers against a resurgent GOP nominee in former president Donald Trump.

“An unsentimental analysis of the cold hard numbers—which have no personal feelings or political loyalties—should inform what we decide and whom we nominate,” Torres said, just days after a call with the Congressional Black Caucus and the embattled nominee.

Unlike Torres, most CBC members have remained steadfast in their support for Biden, who has himself given no public indication that he will give up his campaign. In a highly anticipated ABC News interview on July 5, the nation’s second Catholic president suggested that only divine intervention could draw him to drop out of the race.

“If the Lord Almighty came down and said, ‘Joe, get out of the race,’ I’ll get out of the race,” he said. “The Lord Almighty’s not coming down.”

The comments ignited fresh criticism from some corners of the electorate, including many Democrat voters who felt his debate performance showed signs of a larger cognitive decline. Others say there's no going back on the presumptive nominee ahead of the Democratic National Convention next month in Chicago.

Torres’ fellow New York Democrat Rep. Adriano Espaillat, deputy chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, issued a statement on July 8 touting Biden’s wins for the Latino community and supporting his campaign.

“We stand with President Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris,” it read. “We look forward to our continued partnership on the road and legislative wins to benefit the American people.”

Espaillat joins CBC member Rep. Gabe Amo, a freshman congressman from Rhode Island, as Black Catholics backing Biden’s run without qualification. Amo was campaigning with the president in New Hampshire immediately after his debate debacle, calling for level heads amid the controversy.

"I think it's very clear the president didn't have a great debate. He said it himself. But something that is a through line of Joe Biden's story is getting knocked down and coming back up, so I think we need to focus on the two clear choices we have here," Amo said.

New York's Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Catholic member of the Squad bloc who has moved closer to a moderate Biden on various positions in recent months, has also defended the president against his critics within the party.

“He has made abundantly clear that he is in this race. He has made abundantly clear that he is not leaving the race. He is the nominee. I am making sure that I support him and making sure that we win in November,” she told reporters this week.

For his part, Torres’ break with his Black Democratic colleagues is not new. The young pol said in April 2023 that he supported Biden’s then-newly announced reelection campaign but noted his hesitation about his age despite his “powerful record” as a legislator and national leader.

“Is it ideal that we have an 80-year-old running for president? No,” he said, resembling comments he shared online this week on Friday afternoon.

“It is fair for Democrats to have different opinions about how best to defeat Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans.”

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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