President Biden’s reelection campaign and Biden’s allies are trying their best to dispel doubts from Democrats about whether Biden should withdraw from the race following his abysmal debate performance.
The campaign spent much of the weekend trying to calm the nerves of party leaders and donors and convince them that Biden supporters were somehow fired up after a debate performance that sent Democrats into a state of panic.
“They’re trying, but it’s not working,” a Democratic fundraiser told The Hill when asked about the outreach. “The DNC’s calls have been questionable at best. Once you see it, you can’t forget it.”
The fundraiser was referring to a conference call hosted by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) on Sunday, which reportedly sparked further outrage over what was seen as a lack of effort by Biden’s campaign in handling the post-debate process.
“I think they’re taking it very seriously. I don’t think they’re offering a solution. I think their solution is to wait it out,” the safekeeper said.
Others, however, argue that campaigns need to do more in terms of outreach efforts, and that such efforts are “expected.”
“I think their PR efforts are predictable. I don’t think PR efforts solve the underlying problem, which is that people saw the event with their own eyes,” a Democratic lobbyist and donor told The Hill. “No amount of PR is going to change a lot of people’s perspective. They watched the event for 90 minutes and just supplemented a narrative that was already out there.”
“Literally nobody I’ve spoken to, in politics or outside of politics, has defended this argument,” the source added.
Talk of Biden’s withdrawal began during and immediately after Thursday’s debate with former President Trump, during which the president gave often rambling and rambling answers to questions about subjects he frequently covered in campaign speeches. He sometimes struggled to finish his answers, but was more forceful when talking about Trump’s beliefs.
Jen O’Malley Dillon, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign, argued in a memo on Saturday that “Washington voters are counting out Joe Biden,” that focus groups believe Biden won the debate and that internal figures show the debate had little impact on the race.
“For all the fear-mongering on Thursday, the truth is this election was incredibly close until Thursday, and by every indicator we’ve seen since then it remains incredibly close,” O’Malley Dillon wrote.
But the day before, at a campaign event for Vice President Harris in Las Vegas, voters expressed serious concerns.
“I can’t tell you there’s no one better than me,” one voter told a reporter accompanying Harris, describing the debate as “terrible.”
Another voter questioned Biden’s mental competence, asking, “Who is running the country?”
The latest attempt to convince Democrats that Biden doesn’t need to step aside comes as new polls show more than 40 percent of party members think Biden should be replaced and a USA Today/Suffolk University poll conducted Monday showed more than four in 10 Democrats said Biden shouldn’t be the nominee.
One Biden supporter acknowledged they knew the team would face setbacks after Biden’s debate performance, and gave some credit to Harris, who admitted to a slow start but fiercely defended Biden on substance in a heated exchange with CNN immediately after the debate.
“The campaign was shocked by the debate and realized they were facing a full-blown crisis,” a Biden ally said. “The vice president’s performance on CNN helped ease fears, but the campaign recognized it was a setback.”
Some Democrats argue that the campaign is serving its intended purpose.
“The campaign is doing what a campaign is supposed to do: supporting a candidate,” said former Rep. Chris Carney (D-Pennsylvania). “Even before the campaign began, there was growing anxiety among some Democrats about a second term for Biden. Those voices were echoed after the debate. Whether they continue to resonate will depend on how Biden performs after the debate and whether the campaign can send a credible message of strength and clarity.”
In addition to the O’Malley Dillon memo, the campaign kicked off this week with ads highlighting Biden’s claim that he will serve another term. They also attacked Trump shortly before the Supreme Court ruled on presidential immunity on January 6, 2021, a major victory for the former president that could lead to further delays to his criminal trial. The Biden campaign also recently announced that it has raised $33 million since the debate.
Biden himself has acknowledged that his performance in the debate was lacking, saying that while he was noticeably more energetic in his North Carolina speech than the night before, he just wasn’t debating as well as he had in previous years.
Biden returned to Camp David over the weekend, where he spent nearly a week preparing for the debate. During a planned trip back with his family, first lady Jill Biden called Vogue to say that her husband had Not dropped out For the 2024 race.
She said her family, who are closely advising Biden on his political future, “are not going to let these 90 minutes define his four years as president. We will keep fighting.”
Now there is hope that Biden can move away from the debates and instead present himself in more performative settings by exposing himself more, which could include participating in town hall meetings, in-person news conferences and more speeches.
During a campaign conference call after Monday’s Supreme Court decision, aides were asked whether Biden’s public activities would change in light of the ruling and his performance in the debate.
“We are in election season and the president will continue to campaign in battleground states as he has done for months,” said chief deputy campaign manager Quentin Fulks.
