Illinois Reps. Schneider, Sorensen call on President Biden to step aside

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Two more Illinois congressmen asked President Joe Biden Thursday to step aside.

U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, D-Illinois, put out a lengthy statement Thursday in which he raised concerns about the presidential race, saying, "I love President Biden. I am forever grateful for his leadership and service to our nation. The time has come, however, for President Biden to heroically pass the torch to a new generation of leadership to guide us to the future he has enabled and empowered us to pursue."

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Schneider's comments come after fellow Illinois Democratic Congressional Delegation member Mike Quigley has ratcheted up his concerns.

"In passing the torch now, President Biden has a chance to live up to this standard and seal his place in history as one of the greatest leaders our nation, and history, has ever known. He can lead the transition of power to a new generation that can build a stronger party and a stronger nation. I fear if he fails to make the right choice, our democracy will hang in the balance," Schneider said.

Schneider represents the 8th District, which is made up of the northwest suburbs. He's currently running for a fifth term in Congress.

After Biden's press conference following the NATO Summit Thursday, Rep. Eric Sorensen, who represents parts of Rockford, Bloomington-Normal, Peoria, and the Illinois side of the Quad Cities region, also called for him to step aside in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.

"I am hopeful President Biden will step aside in his campaign for President," he said in the statement.

Biden held what was largely considered to be a pivotal press conference for his reelection bid Thursday evening.

Biden's performance likely won't change many minds - Democrats who want Biden to step down are able to jump on a notable verbal gaffe he made at the beginning of the news conference, while Biden's supporters will point toward the time he spent deftly answering a variety of questions on foreign policy.

Toward the beginning of the question-and-answer, Biden mistakenly referred to Vice President Kamala Harris as former President Donald Trump. It was exactly the type of slip-up the White House and Biden's campaign presumably would have feared amid mounting questions surrounding his mental acuity.

"I wouldn't have picked Vice President Trump to be vice president did I think she was not qualified to be president," he said.

The president did not correct himself. But Biden quickly moved on, and he spent the rest of the news conference lobbing in-depth answers about questions including Russia, Israel and his economy, offering deep answers on dealing with China and US policy around Ukraine's fight.

"I think I am the best qualified person to do the job, to make sure that Ukraine does not fall, that Ukraine succeeds, that the European alliance stay strong," he said. "I'm not in this for my legacy. I'm in this to complete the job I started."

Right before the press conference, Biden had another very public stumble.

It happened as the NATO Summit wrapped up in Washington Thursday afternoon.

Biden joined NATO leaders to sign a Ukraine Compact, pledging continued support in the war against Russia and its president, Vladimir Putin.

But he introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as "President Putin."

ABC7 was there as Schneider absorbed the words in real time. He said the performance did not change his mind.

"One press conference, one debate, one rally is not what is driving me to a decision that we need to move to the next generation," he said.

A source told ABC News that President Biden's campaign is now testing head-to-head matchups of Vice President Kamala Harris against former President Trump. President Biden, who will be on the campaign trail in Michigan Friday, said Thursday night he would only back out if his team tells him there's no way he could win.

He said right now, no poll says that.

Nearly two weeks after Biden's disastrous debate performance, some Democratic donors continue to sound warnings that their party could lose the White House in November if he remains the nominee and say they are increasingly concerned about Biden's dug-in defiance.

Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker and Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson doubled down on their support for President Biden on Tuesday, as some Democrats remain divided over what to do.

Johnson on Thursday said he remains firmly behind the president.

"I'm confident that because he's the only person on the planet that has ever beat Donald Trump, I'm gonna go with the person who has a track record of winning," Johnson said. "What are we debating over? You can go with the person who has shown up for the people of this country, investing in cities across America, or you can go with the person who does not believe in democracy. The choice is clear: Biden-Harris."

Pritzker did respond to a hot mic moment from Wednesday, talking about the Biden campaign.

He was heard saying, "I mean we're just gonna keep fighting; I don't know what to say, you know, I gotta, gotta do what we have to do. I don't like where we are, but."

"Well, all I was referring to is I don't like the polls, right? Joe Biden is behind by a couple of points nationally," Pritzker said Thursday. "I don't like the fact that we're behind, and I think we can do much better. And I'm gonna go campaign and watch him win in November."

As of Thursday afternoon, 17 House Democrats have pulled their support of Biden, but there are reports that number will soon explode, as the NATO Summit in Washington comes to a close.

ABC News has also confirmed that the Biden campaign has started polling on a potential matchup between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump.

The move comes after Trump has started to attack Harris on the campaign trail.

An ABC News/Washington Post poll shows Harris leading Donald Trump 49-46% at the moment.

Biden campaign officials had a closed-door meeting with top Senate Democrats Thursday.

Sen. Tammy Duckworth said they laid out a path to victory.

"Look, I think we've got a good plan going forward. He's our nominee. He's our president; he's gonna win. I'm campaign co-chair, and I have every confidence in the president," the Illinois Democrat said.

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that 67% of voters believe President Biden should step aside.

At the City Club Thursday, the executive director of the DNC said they are not planning for any changes at the top of the ticket.

In an internal Biden campaign memo obtained by ABC7 Chicago, the Biden team expressed confidence, saying, "There is a long way to go between now and Election Day with considerable uncertainty and polls in July should not be overestimated, but the data shows we have a clear path to win."

CNN contributed to this report.