SC Oklahoma News

Washington, D.C. – Today, Congressman Tom Cole (OK-04) released a statement following President Biden’s decision to withdraw from the presidential race.

“Today’s stunning announcement by President Biden that he is withdrawing from the presidential race is an admission that he cannot win re-election and that in the Democratic Party the will of the political elite is more important than the votes of ordinary Americans,” stated Cole.

Cole continued, “President Biden won the Democratic nomination fair and square. Indeed, the same elite that are turning on him now helped to engineer that victory by shutting out other legitimate contenders for the nomination. However, when it became apparent that President Biden was unlikely to win a general election against former President Trump, his erstwhile allies quickly showed him the door and are now frantically searching for an alternative nominee who might offer them a better chance to hold on to power.”

He criticized what he described as "the transparent cynicism" of this effort: “The transparent cynicism of this desperate attempt to hang on to political power by the Democratic political insiders is breathtaking for its sheer audacity and hypocrisy. They respect neither their own process nor their own voters. To them this election is not about defending democracy. It is about subverting it and substituting the interests of a self-appointed and self-serving political cabal for the will of millions of Democratic voters who played by the rules and expressed their opinion at the ballot box.”

Cole contrasted this with what he termed as a more democratic process within his own party: “The contrast between this political circus and the free and open process operated by the Republican Party could not be more stark and more clear. Donald Trump faced many able and worthy competitors in dozens of primaries and bested them all. Whoever the Democratic elite anoints as their party’s nominee will not have won a single legitimate primary nor the vote of a single Democratic voter.”

In concluding remarks, Cole called for immediate action if Democrats believe Biden unfit: “If Democratic leaders truly believe President Biden is not fit to run as the Democratic nominee then they should follow through on the logic of that conclusion and urge him to resign immediately. If, after winning every Democratic primary, President Biden is not fit to be the Democratic nominee in November then he is certainly not qualified to remain as President today.”

Cole predicted historical judgment on this event: “History will record this moment for what it is —the cynical and self-serving effort of a corrupt political elite to maintain its position by subverting and manipulating the democratic process. I believe the American people will see through this sham, punish the Democratic elite for changing the rules in the middle of the game, and deliver Donald Trump and the Republican Party a resounding victory in November,” said Congressman Cole.