ReutersJoe Biden’s unexpectedly poor performance at Thursday night’s debate sparked panic, confusion and even sadness within the Democratic Party, including among those close to the president.
Now, party leaders, the White House and the Biden-Harris campaign are having serious conversations about a range of options, one of which is whether Joe Biden should step down as presidential candidate.
Democratic officials, politicians and people close to the president paint a picture of an anxious Democratic Party with serious concerns about the strength of its candidate and whether he can defeat Donald Trump in November.
Among some of the president’s allies I spoke with, they were uneasy about how preparations for the Atlanta debate were being handled.
These people said Biden’s campaign was overprepared and overworked and that he would have done better if he had been given more time to rest in the week before the debate. One campaign source suggested to me that perhaps he was having so many voices, opinions and data points crammed into his head that he was confused.
While that analysis may be correct, claims that the president is tired and overworked do little to quell real concerns that Biden’s advanced age may affect his ability to win this election.
Concerns about the president’s age, mental health and stamina, and the insistence that something must be done about them, are nothing new.
Back in September, Biden’s close friend and well-known political columnist David Ignatius said the president should step down. In February, The New York Times’ Ezra Klein said much the same thing in an op-ed that sparked discussion and outrage among White House insiders.
So far, these sounds have been one-offs. That changed after a poor performance in last night’s debate.
In the early hours of Friday morning, a group of high-profile Democratic strategists, experts and former officials joined calls for Biden to withdraw. I appeared on Morning Joe, the American political morning show that the president regularly watches. Joe Scarborough, the show’s host and a defender of the president, noted that while Biden can still govern the country, he may no longer have what it takes to win an election.
So where does that leave Joe Biden?
First of all, it is important to remember that the decision whether to continue is more or less entirely up to him. At this point, if he doesn’t want to back down, it’s almost impossible to be removed. A campaign source told me that any decision to step down would be made by a very small group, including the president, his wife and his sister, Val Biden.
Second, discussions about whether to replace Biden are currently taking place publicly among experts and former officials, but remain private only among those with actual influence.
In fact, this morning several of the president’s allies – who are also embarrassingly considered potential successors – came to his defense on television and social media.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was “very proud of the president.” Sen. John Fetterman put it bluntly: “I refuse to join the ranks of Democratic vultures on Biden’s shoulders.”
My report indicates that no changes will be made immediately. The team hopes to give the president a chance to appear publicly and erase the memory of that debate. He held rallies and public events and was said to be strong and energetic.
On Saturday, Mr. Biden will travel to the ultra-affluent Hamptons area of New York to attend a fundraiser with Democratic donors.
One campaign source told me that the chances of him stepping down are currently only about 5 percent. But if donors abandon him en masse, they acknowledge that things could change, prompting them to decide more quickly on his candidacy.
Polls on public reaction to the debate should be conducted in the coming days. This will also guide the discussion.
The campaign has pointed to polling data from the debate showing independent voters reacting more unfavorably to Donald Trump than to Joe Biden. They hope to replicate this in future polls.
Joe Biden has been discounted many times in his political career. When he first ran for Senate, he was told he was too young. When he thought about running for president in 2016, he was told it wasn’t his turn yet. By 2020, many felt he failed to represent the future of a diverse Democratic Party.
He made a habit of ignoring skeptics. The only people he truly trusted were the few close advisers who had been by his side over the years. I’m told those advisers, including Ron Klain and Mike Donilon (who prepared him for this disastrous debate), also happen to believe Joe Biden is the only one who can defeat Donald Trump .
They were right in 2020.
Yes, Joe Biden has a history of backlash, but many Democrats fear this time will be different.
