Mr. Castro, who was criticized for remarks questioning Mr. Biden’s memory in a 2020 primary debate, said Democrats should find another candidate.
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Julián Castro, a former presidential candidate who ran against President Biden in the 2020 Democratic primaries, said on Tuesday that Mr. Biden should drop out of the race, pointing to Vice President Kamala Harris as a potential replacement at the top of the Democratic ticket.
In an interview on MSNBC, Mr. Castro, 49, said that Mr. Biden, 81, should “absolutely” remove himself from the race against former President Donald J. Trump, adding that he believed “another Democrat would have a better shot at beating Trump” and that it was “too risky to let Donald Trump walk into this in November.”
“Yeah, I think the Democrats would do well to find a different candidate,” he said.
Mr. Castro, who served as the secretary of housing and urban development in the Obama administration, has consistently raised concerns about Mr. Biden’s age and was criticized during his 2020 campaign for remarks at a debate that questioned Mr. Biden’s memory.
After Mr. Biden’s poor performance in Thursday’s debate against Mr. Trump, 78, Mr. Castro excoriated the president, saying: “Biden had a very low bar going into the debate and failed to clear even that bar. He seemed unprepared, lost and not strong enough to parry effectively with Trump, who lies constantly.”
Mr. Castro’s comments on Tuesday went further. “I actually don’t see a path now for President Biden to stay in this race,” he said.
He pointed to “a stable of folks,” including Ms. Harris, whom he thought could do a better job, but he did not name other potential candidates.
Chris Cameron covers politics for The Times, focusing on breaking news and the 2024 campaign. More about Chris Cameron
See more on: 2024 Elections, U.S. Politics, Democratic Party, Julian Castro, President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris
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Source: nytimes.com
