Highest-ranking Democrat to demand Biden step down goes public with brutal message… and reveals who should be his replacement

Democratic Congressman Adam Smith is calling for President Joe Biden to step aside from the presidential race so Democrats can defeat Donald Trump in November and said he believes Vice President Kamala Harris would be a better choice. 

Smith is the highest ranking member in the House to go public to date amid questions over the president's fitness to serve a second term after his disastrous debate performance last month.

'President Biden should end his candidacy for a second term as President and release his delegates to the Democratic National Convention to enable the party to nominate a new candidate for President,' Smith said in a statement on Monday afternoon. 

'This must happen as soon as possible to give the new ticket the maximum amount of time to make its case to the American people,' he continued.

Smith argued Biden continuing his campaign would be a 'mistake' and exiting the race now would allow Democrats to find a candidate who would be 'in the strongest possible position to beat Donald Trump in November.'

Smith also appeared on CNN Monday afternoon where he pleaded with Biden's backers to put their personal feelings for the president aside. He told Jake Tapper he believes Harris is a better option. 

'Personally I think Kamala Harris would be a much better, stronger candidate,' Smith said. 'And because she is constitutionally his second, that's the way it's supposed to work.'

He said they ran as a team this election from the very start. 

Smith also claimed Democrats have a strong record to run on and praised the president's first term but raised concerns about telling voters about that record. 

'We've got a good message,' Smith said. 'The President has shown he is not capable of delivering that message in an effective way.'

Smith there were concerns leading up to the president's debate performance, and it hasn't gotten better since. He blasted Biden saying any 'good debater' would have been able to respond to Trump. 

The Democratic lawmaker said the Biden campaign strategy of staying quiet and falling in line is not working right now. 

He also pushed back on Biden's remarks on MSNBC's Morning Joe during a phone interview on Monday morning that it is the 'elites' trying to push him out. 

Smith argued those people were who put him in office in the first place. He pointed out that Biden lost Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada during the 2020 primary but there was a 'nationwide movement' to make him the nominee over Senator Bernie Sanders.

Smith is one of a handful of Democrats in Congress calling for Biden to step aside in the presidential race. He first made his stance that Biden needed to drop out known on a private call over the weekend with colleagues. 

But on Monday, Biden sent a letter to members of Congress where he insisted he would stay in the 2024 race and committed to defeating Trump.

'I wouldn't be running again if I did not absolutely believe I was the best person to beat Donald Trump in 2024,' he wrote.