Although Colorado Senator Michael Bennet (D) said Tuesday that Joe Biden would likely lose to Donald Trump in a “landslide,” he did not publicly call for the president to end his embattled campaign.

Sen. Peter Welch (D-VT), however, was willing to go there, and in a Wednesday evening op-ed for the Washington Post, he flatly declared, “For the good of the country, I’m calling on President Biden to withdraw from the race.”

As we saw in similar editorials from actor George Clooney and liberal newspapers like The New York Times and The Atlanta-Journal Constitution, the piece starts out by lavishly praising the compromised commander-in-chief for his unbelievable accomplishments, ludicrously saying he “has been one of the best presidents of our time.” I’m not sure what time you've been living in, Senator, but it’s not the one that millions of Americans are experiencing. 

But then he gets real:

But I, like folks across the country, am worried about November’s election. The stakes could not be higher. We cannot unsee President Biden’s disastrous debate performance. We cannot ignore or dismiss the valid questions raised since that night.

I understand why President Biden wants to run. He saved us from Donald Trump once and wants to do it again. But he needs to reassess whether he is the best candidate to do so. In my view, he is not.

My thoughts on the state of the presidential campaign.https://t.co/BEaSVhKh42

— Peter Welch (@WelchForVT) July 10, 2024

Welch has been speaking with voters in his state, and they have expressed their deep concern that not only will Biden get hammered in the race against Trump, but even if he did somehow win, he’s simply not fit to run the country.

The Vermont senator appeared to be hinting he was growing more concerned about Biden’s electability, speaking with reporters earlier on Wednesday afternoon. Welch downplayed the impact of Biden’s looming news conference at the NATO summit on Thursday, which some Democrats have acknowledged will be critical to show he has the energy and mental capacity to face Trump in the presidential election.

“You’re focusing on a single event, because that’s one that’s coming up, and then there’ll be another event next week and you’ll focus on that. And what it suggests is that this question of aging capacity simply won’t go away,” Welch said.

He’s not the only high-ranking Democrat politician who’s concerned: former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) appeared to undermine Biden earlier Wednesday, while House Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) is reportedly considering dumping Joe for someone else. 

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Et Tu, Chuck? Report Says Schumer Open to Ditching Biden, Endorsing New Candidate

Welch may be the first Democrat senator to formally jump ship on the Biden campaign, but will he be the last, or will his move open up the floodgates for other senators to follow suit? Biden is desperately trying to stop the bleeding by scheduling a press conference Thursday and an NBC interview Monday—the type of things he should have been doing all along but which he has assiduously avoided during his term—will it be enough?

But we can't unsee the debate:

Desperate Measures: Biden to Sit for Primetime NBC Interview With Lester Holt

White House Clown Show Continues As They Announce Biden Will Hold a 'Big Boy' Press Conference

The dam of Democratic support may be crumbling, and if it bursts, there won’t be a thing Biden can do to stop it. Welch:

We need him to put us first, as he has done before. I urge him to do it [end his campaign] now.

We'll see in the coming days who else agrees with him and follows suit.