Dem calls on 'pearl-clutching' colleagues to calm down when — not if — Trump wins

A second Democrat in office has come out calling for President Joe Biden to call it and sit out Nov. 5.

Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME)published a Bangor Daily News editorial about how he's not surprised or fazed by the 81-year-old incumbent's freefall from his poor showing at last week's debate — but that the outcome of this election has been clear to him for months: "While I don’t plan to vote for him, Donald Trump is going to win. And I’m OK with that."

He joins Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas — who also went public by name to express his conviction that Biden can't win the contest against former President Donald Trump.

Rather than wallow in a second Trump term and become unhinged about his dictator for a day promise — Golden is more focused on how to disavow the scare tactics.

"...I refuse to participate in a campaign to scare voters with the idea that Trump will end our democratic system," he writes.

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As the country turns 248, Golden thinks there is confidence to believe that American democracy — which has "withstood civil war, world wars, acts of terrorism and technological and societal changes" — will weather MAGA 2.0.

"Pearl-clutching about a Trump victory ignores the strength of our democracy," he writes. "Jan. 6, 2021, was a dark day. But Americans stood strong. Hundreds of police officers protected the democratic process against thousands who tried to use violence to upend it."

Judges and election officials did their jobs, as did fellow members of congress on that deadly day when a mob stormed the Capitol. The election results were certified.

At stake, as Golden sees it, isn't the threat to democracy, but the pinch on peoples' pocketbooks.

"This election is about the economy, not democracy," he writes. "And when it comes to our economy, our Congress matters far more than who occupies the White House."

After the election, it will be on Congress to work with him and not against him.

"In 2025, I believe Trump is going to be in the White House," writes Golden. "Maine’s representatives will need to work with him when it benefits Mainers, hold him accountable when it does not and work independently across the aisle no matter what."