Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., said that former President Joe Biden should have exited the presidential race sooner, saying there’s "no doubt" the Democratic Party would have been better served had he done so. 

"Obviously, in retrospect, the president should have gotten out of the race earlier. There's no doubt that the Democratic Party would have been better served by having the ability to have an open primary," Murphy told NBC "Meet the Press" host Kristen Welker Sunday. 

Biden abruptly dropped out of the presidential race in July 2024 following a disastrous debate with now-President Donald Trump in which he repeatedly appeared confused and flustered. Vice President Kamala Harris quickly took over as the nominee, with less than four months left to campaign.

DAVE PORTNOY RIPS DEMOCRATS AND LIBERAL MEDIA FOR BIDEN COGNITIVE DECLINE 'COVER-UP'

Biden’s fitness to serve in office has come under intense scrutiny in recent days with the publication of CNN anchor Jake Tapper and Politico reporter Alex Thompson’s book "Original Sin" which described the senior staff of the president attempting to hide his alleged cognitive decline from the public. Recordings of Biden’s Oct. 2023 testimony to Special Counsel Robert Hur were released, which showed Biden struggling to recall the date of his son Beau’s death.

JOE BIDEN DIAGNOSED WITH 'AGGRESSIVE FORM' OF PROSTATE CANCER WITH METASTASIS TO THE BONE

Murphy said judging Biden’s cognitive abilities via that recording wasn’t fair to the former president, since it is a "very emotional topic" for him. However, the Democratic lawmaker said voters clearly wanted a different candidate in 2024. However, he stopped short of saying that Biden was in decline while he was in office, saying that he saw a president who was "in control."

Murphy said it was a mistake for the Democratic Party to not heed the calls from voters to nominate somebody younger and more competitive, in light of Trump’s victory.

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"By 2024, the American people have decided they wanted somebody new, they wanted somebody younger, and it was a mistake for Democrats to not listen to the voters earlier and set up a process that would have gotten us in a position where we could have been more competitive that fall," he said. 

Crew members were hanging onto the rigging of the Mexican Navy tall ship that crashed into the Brooklyn Bridge Saturday night, video footage shows.

Two sailors were killed and nearly 20 others were injured when the Cuauhtémoc ship struck the bridge at around 8:30 p.m. Saturday night. Everyone who was injured was on the boat and none of the 277 people onboard fell into the water.

"No one fell into the water, they were all hurt inside the ship," an NYPD official said, according to WCBS. "The ship, from what I was informed by the supervisors of the ship, it was disembarking and going to Iceland."

Video of the crash from the Brooklyn side of the East River shows the 150-foot-tall Mexican Navy training ship's three masts snapping after hitting the bridge. Officials said early indications suggest a mechanical issue may have caused the ship to veer off course and collide with the bridge, but the incident remains under investigation.

NTSB LAUNCHES 'GO-TEAM' OF SPECIALIZED INVESTIGATORS AFTER BROOKLYN BRIDGE STRUCK BY MEXICAN NAVY SHIP

Footage also shows sailors hanging from the rigging ropes on the damaged masts, but none of them fell into the water.

"We saw someone dangling, and I couldn’t tell if it was just blurry or my eyes, and we were able to zoom in on our phone and there was someone dangling from the harness from the top for at least 15 minutes before they were able to rescue them," eyewitness Lily Katz told The Associated Press.

Another witness, Nick Corso, had his phone out to capture the backdrop of the ship and the bridge against a sunset when he heard what sounded like the loud snapping of a "big twig."

AT LEAST 2 DEAD AFTER MEXICAN NAVY SAILING SHIP COLLIDES WITH BROOKLYN BRIDGE IN DRAMATIC NYC CRASH

People around Corso began running and "pandemonium" ensued aboard the ship, he said. He later noticed a handful of people dangling from a mast.

"I didn’t know what to think, I was like, is this a movie?" he said.

The bridge did not sustain any damage from the collision.

"We are praying for everyone on board and their families and are grateful to our first responders who quickly jumped into action, ensuring this accident wasn’t much worse," Adams said at a news conference on Saturday night.

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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum offered "solidarity and support" to the families of the deceased crew members after the crash.

"We are deeply saddened by the loss of two crew members of the Cuauhtémoc Training Ship, who lost their lives in the unfortunate accident in New York Harbor. Our sympathy and support go out to their families," she wrote Saturday night on on X.

The Cuauhtémoc was built in Bilbao, Spain, in 1981 and has won the Tall Ships’ Races twice, according to Sail Training International. The ship was in New York City as part of a promotion for an event next year that celebrates America’s 250th birthday.