Campaign

Graham: Biden staying in race is ‘very good news’ for GOP

by Lauren Irwin - 07/05/24 6:55 PM ET

Senator Lindsey Graham gestures while speaking to the press in dim lighting. — Maya Alleruzzo, Associated Press
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) speaks to journalists, March 27, 2024.

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) argued that President Biden not suspending his campaign is “very good news” for the Republican Party heading into the November election.

“From a political point of view President Biden’s commitment to stay in the race no matter what is very good news, not only for President Trump but for the entire down ballot Republican team,” Graham posted on social platform X.

Graham was responding to a post from Biden in which the president made it clear he was going not going to drop out of the race.

“I’m the sitting President of the United States. I’m the nominee of the Democratic party. I’m staying in the race,” Biden posted Friday.

The president’s debate performance last week sparked widespread panic among Democrats about not only Biden’s ability to beat former President Trump in the polls this fall, but also his ability to execute the role of president for another term.

Since then, there have been many calls for him to suspend his campaign and allow another candidate to take on Trump. Biden and his team have insisted that he is not going to drop out.

In his first major rally since the calls began, Biden forcefully declared he’s staying in the race.

“I’m running and going to win again,” he said.

Much of the national conversation following the debate has surrounded Biden’s performance, not his opponent’s. Graham argued that Biden didn’t just have one bad night, he’s “had a bad presidency.”

In an interview with CNN last week, the South Carolina senator sidestepped a question about the numerous false claims made by Trump during the debate. He questioned how the country got to this point with Biden as the Democratic Party’s likely nominee.

“He’s not a good president. He’s a decent man. He’s a failed president. He is compromised. That’s the storyline here,” Graham said last Sunday.

Biden will sit down for his first postdebate interview Friday night at 8 p.m. with ABC in what is largely being seen as a make-or-break moment to salvage his campaign.