There is growing concern among House Democrats that President Biden’s shaky performance in last night’s debate raises immediate questions about whether he should remain in the lead in this year’s presidential election.
Democrats have vigorously supported their White House ally throughout the campaign, making such criticism unthinkable ahead of Thursday night’s high-profile event.
But that all changed Thursday night. Many Democrats were stunned by Biden’s shaky speech in Atlanta, where he stumbled, drifted from topic to topic and repeatedly appeared to lose his train of thought. They worry that the erratic speech will only exacerbate questions about Biden’s health and competency, which have emerged as his biggest weaknesses.
Some would like him to withdraw from the race altogether, even if they have not publicly called for him to do so, in order to prevent former President Trump from winning a second term in the White House.
“He should step aside now,” one House Democrat, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive topic, told The Hill. “We were all huddled together this morning and doing stuff. There’s nobody that I’ve spoken to at this point that doesn’t think he should step aside now.”
Another House Democrat, who also asked not to be named, reserved judgment on Biden’s next move, saying “that’s a decision for another day … we’ll see what happens,” but said many both locally and on Capitol Hill believe it’s time for the president to relinquish his spot at the top of the shortlist.
“There’s been a lot of talk here and from our friends around the country that we need someone who can clearly get our message across, and we didn’t see that last night,” the congressman said. “A lot of people are saying that… [A] That’s the case for most of the people I spoke to today.”
Pundits and panicked Democrats began talking about it almost as soon as the debate ended, and the White House, Biden’s campaign and key allies of the president moved quickly Friday morning to squash rumors of a candidate switch.
Biden campaign spokesman Seth Schuster told The Hill that “of course he’s not backing down,” and a White House official said “that’s not going to happen,” as Biden supporters stormed the Capitol to show their support for the sitting president.
But the debate comes during a campaign in which the House, Senate and White House are all at stake, with both parties scrambling to gain any advantage, even if it’s just a slight one, to give their side an edge. Biden’s performance in the debate immediately raised concerns among Democrats that he had not only hurt his own chances of retaining the presidency, but that he might also hurt his party’s lower-level elections.
“It couldn’t be any worse,” a third Democrat said, emphasizing that the concerns are widespread within the caucus.
The moves made for some unusual scenes at the Capitol on Friday morning. Scores of reporters crowded the hallways to hear the reactions of Biden’s Democratic supporters, but many of those same supporters made a point of avoiding their questions. Some lawmakers held phones to their ears on their way to the chamber. Others simply refused to speak. In another sign of how sensitive the issue is, no lawmaker went on the record to question Biden’s voting strategy.
“The hill has risen a little bit,” a fourth Democrat said. “We have to do whatever it takes to stop Donald Trump from getting into the White House. We’re going to have serious conversations about what that means.”
Lawmakers said there is already talk about who might replace Biden if he steps down and the party chooses another candidate at its August convention. The list includes several governors, including Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Gavin Newsom of California. Conspicuously absent, several Democrats said, is Vice President Harris.
“If there was a change, it would mean fielding an entirely new candidate,” a fourth council member said.
Age has become a central issue in the presidential race, which features the oldest candidates in US history: Biden is 81 and Trump is 78.
Both candidates were pressed on the issue during Thursday’s debate, with Trump responding by claiming he could hit a golf ball “far.” Biden countered by citing his own golfing record and pointing to the long list of legislation passed during his time in the White House.
“Look how I turned around the terrible situation he left behind,” he said.
But in the eyes of some concerned Democrats, that record isn’t enough to allay concerns that his continued presence as a candidate would be a burden to the party.
The first House Democrat to call for Biden to step down said Democratic “leaders” are “going to have to meet with Biden and say, ‘Look, you’ve done a great job. Now is the time.'”
Democrats said the list of advisers should include the president’s wife, Jill Biden, as well as party elders who have a track record of working with the president for many years, including former President Barack Obama, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-South Carolina), the kingmaker who helped revive Biden’s 2020 campaign at a crucial moment.
But many in that crowd support Trump, the presumptive nominee, and acknowledge that despite the incumbent president’s disappointing performance on the night, he remains the best person to lead their candidate in November.
“It was a poor performance,” Clyburn told reporters about Biden’s debate performance, but the South Carolina Democrat said he would “probably” speak to Biden later in the day and deliver a simple message: “Stay on the path.”
Speaker Pelosi similarly said Biden was “off to a bad start” and noted that this “could be a bad night,” but added that “while it was a bad night, Biden’s display of sincerity was far superior to Biden’s dishonesty.”
As he walked into the Capitol on Friday morning, Rep. Jeffries responded to a reporter’s question about whether Biden should step down by saying “no,” but when pressed later on whether Biden is the most effective communicator for his party’s message, the House Democrat declined to comment.
“Until the president clearly lays out a path forward in terms of his vision for America at this time, I’m going to refrain from making any comment on the situation at this time other than to say I support the candidate for president,” Jeffries said.
For now, many Democrats are urging their colleagues to take a breather, wait for the dust to die down and see how voters respond to the president’s work.
“Obviously, it wasn’t a good night,” said Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., “but my advice to everybody is, sit back, wait and see how the next few weeks go, and see what happens.”
But other lawmakers say the party has no time to waste.
“I think it has to happen immediately,” the No. 1 House Democrat told The Hill when asked whether party leaders should wait to see the debate polls before speaking with Biden, or start the conversation right away.
“At the end of the day, do post-debate polls really matter?” the senator said. “The only polls you should look at are how they performed last night. That’s the polls.”
He argued that with just under two months until the nominating convention in August and just over four months until Election Day, Democrats still have time to make changes to their candidate.
“There’s time,” the congressman said, “before the convention starts, which could be a big sales pitch for whoever the new candidate is.”
A second House Democrat was more succinct, saying “we’ll see what happens” when asked if Biden would still be the nominee, and when asked if the party was working out the timing.
“Just barely.”
