President Joe Biden needs to do a lot more to end the Democratic panic over his dismal debate performance with former President Donald Trump, and fast.
After Texas Rep. Lloyd Doggett on Tuesday (2) became the first Democratic lawmaker to break ranks and demand Biden’s ouster, senior party figures are now calling for more openness and details about the president’s health and mental state as anxiety over his reelection campaign evolves into an increasingly genuine threat to his grip on the Democratic nomination.
Every effort the president and his White House and campaign staff are making to address the problem has only made it worse. Biden, for example, joked to donors on Tuesday night (2) that he “almost fell asleep on stage” with Trump after two grueling trips to Europe last month. It was an odd way to counter claims that he is no longer fit for the demanding duties of his office as he seeks a second term at age 81.
The debate’s aftermath created another extraordinary twist in a stunning campaign featuring two presidents, one a convicted felon and the other the oldest incumbent in history. The debate crystallized many Democratic fears about Biden’s prospects and led to months of claims by Trump, 78, that his rival is weak and mentally impaired.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Tuesday languished in a briefing that was almost as painful to watch as the debate itself. She said that while Biden had a cold during the debate, he had not taken any medication but was now feeling better. But she declined to go beyond Biden’s previously released annual physical results, which found him fit for duty in February. The explanations did not explain why Biden hesitated on some answers, seemed incoherent at times and gaped as Trump spoke during the debate. CNN .
Biden’s team also keeps answering the wrong question.
“The best indicator of future behavior is past performance,” Jean-Pierre said, noting that the real test of Biden’s capabilities was his record in office over the past 3 1/2 years.
But the real question at the heart of the debate was whether voters could imagine him — in his current diminished state — being able to fully serve another term that would end when he was 86. Jean-Pierre insisted that “we understand how the American people feel. We understand, we understand.” But his briefing only created more intrigue about what was really going on inside the president’s tight-knit inner circle.
While cracks are beginning to appear in the Democratic barrier around the president, public calls for him to step aside so the party can choose another candidate are not yet reaching critical mass. But calls from leading Democrats for more explanations from the president and for energy in his campaign are now impossible for Biden and his team to ignore. And the ultimate outcome of the panic over Biden’s performance is now impossible to predict — an extremely vulnerable position for a president seeking a second term.
Democratic Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont said Tuesday: “The big issue in this debate was the age issue. … The result of the debate was that the age issue got more heated.”
“We have to deal with this. That’s the real issue, and let’s have frank conversations about it, because at the end of the day, the existential question that the Democratic Party faces is how do we prevent Trump from being president — and at all costs, every decision that each of us makes from President Biden, reduced to a precinct captain on the South Side of Chicago, should be viewed through the lens of how do we best protect democracy and protect America,” Welch told Abby Phillip of The Washington Post. CNN on “NewsNight”.
Perhaps most important, the comparison between the wise, sober and statesmanlike Biden and the wild, lawless Trump that the president’s campaign had been predicting for months has been obliterated by speculation about Biden’s health and stamina. Biden needed to use the debate to turn around a race he was in danger of losing, and he may have now squandered his best chance to overtake the former president.
Biden to sit down for ABC interview
In a new effort to calm public concern, Biden will give an interview to ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos on Friday (5), in what now looks like an even more critical test of his acumen than the debate. And he will meet with Democratic governors in Washington on Wednesday (3), both in person and virtually, after demands for direct contact that have underscored the fact that many Democrats believe Biden’s inner circle has been remote and unresponsive to their concerns for months.
One of those governors, Andy Beshear of Kentucky, said in a remarkably candid interview with CNN on Tuesday that Biden’s debate was “rough” and that regardless of what the polls say, it will hurt his campaign.
“Joe Biden is our nominee and ultimately the decision whether or not to continue will rest with him and his family,” Beshear, who has been mentioned as a potential replacement candidate if Biden drops out, told Pamela Brown. “But I don’t think there’s anything wrong with asking the president to talk a little bit more to the American people about his health or his debate performance.”
He added: “It’s like seeing someone you haven’t seen in a while and they seem a bit strange, and you ask them how they are and then listen to their response. It shows concern for them but also trying to make sure everything is OK.”
Like Beshear, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi framed her comments by saying Biden is a great president and that Trump would pose a serious threat to the democratic rule of law. But she also speculated about the president’s health.
“I think it’s a legitimate question to say: Is this an episode or a condition?” she asked on MSNBC on Tuesday, adding that it was also a fair question to ask about the presumptive Republican nominee.
A bad day began just after dawn
Biden’s political standing deteriorated early Tuesday morning when Illinois Rep. Mike Quigley told Kasie Hunt of the CNN that the president needed to understand that his decision to stay in the race would reverberate for years to come and that the House and Senate were in a state of waiting.
Hours later, Doggett became the first Democratic lawmaker to call on Biden to step down from the party’s nomination.
“There is a large and growing group of House Democrats who are concerned about the president’s candidacy,” another House Democratic lawmaker told Brianna Keilar from CNN on condition of anonymity to speak candidly. “We are deeply concerned about his trajectory and his ability to succeed. We want to give him space to make a decision [de se afastar]but we will be increasingly vocal about our concerns if he does not.”
Meanwhile, a new CNN/SSRS poll found that three-quarters of Americans believe Democrats would have a better chance of defeating Trump with a candidate other than Biden. And even unpopular Vice President Kamala Harris fared better against Trump than her boss.
Another danger sign for the president is that, despite his insistence on staying in the race, some Democrats have begun fielding questions about what would happen if he were to step down — despite the extraordinary logistical challenges that the Democratic National Convention would entail.
Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina — one of Biden’s most vocal supporters — said on MSNBC on Tuesday that he still wanted to see the president at the top of the ticket. But he also offered support for the vice president.
“I will support her if he steps aside,” Clyburn said. “This group should absolutely not do anything to circumvent Ms. Harris.”
He added: “We should do everything we can to support her, whether she is second or top of the list.”
Sen. Laphonza Butler also said she still supports Biden. But she offered strong support for her California colleague.
“I think she’s done an incredible job partnering with the president, leading the party and leading the country, and I think she’ll continue to do that,” Butler said.
In his interview, Beshear — who, as governor of a majority-Republican state, would draw vice presidential speculation on a different ticket — also praised Harris, saying he was happy to work with a vice president whose initially shaky adjustment to the role means she would be far from certain to advance if Biden decided to drop out of the race.
The CNN/SSRS poll shows Harris trailing Trump in a hypothetical matchup — 47% to 45%, within the margin of error. Biden is down 6 percentage points on the former president.
But the vice president assured there was no rift between her and Biden during a brief interview with CBS News.
“Joe Biden is our nominee. We beat Trump once and we will beat him again, period,” she said, adding: “I am proud to be Joe Biden’s running mate.”
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
