Democratic anxiety over President Joe Biden’s fitness to run for reelection erupted into the open on Tuesday in a spike of panic, as the first sitting member of Congress called on Biden to withdraw and a slew of other prominent officials who have backed the president vented their concerns.
One Democratic senator openly asked for assurances from the White House about Biden’s “condition” — “that this was a real anomaly and not just the way he is these days,” Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island told a local television station, where he said he had been “horrified” by the president’s debate performance.
Another, Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont, scolded the Biden campaign for “a dismissive attitude towards people who are raising questions for discussion,” in an interview with Semafor.
And later on Tuesday, Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas, a veteran progressive lawmaker, issued a statement saying that Biden’s debate performance, which he had hoped would give the president momentum to make up for his weakness relative to former President Donald Trump, had instead disqualified him from running again.
“I had hoped that the debate would provide some momentum to change that. It did not,” Doggett said. “Instead of reassuring voters, the president failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies.”
The vast majority of Democrats, including party leaders, remain publicly supportive of Biden, and the few critics who have dared to voice their concerns so far are not major players in the party with large followings. Still, after days of privately fretting over Biden’s fumbling, faltering debate performance late last week, by Tuesday a growing number of Democrats appeared willing to air their frustrations.
It was a notable inflection point that came just a day after the president addressed the nation in prime time in an effort to assuage concerns about his ability to speak in public.
Distraught about the pressure from within Biden’s own firmament, White House officials were discussing sending Biden to battleground states, including to Wisconsin on Friday and Pennsylvania on Sunday, to do what allies have been urging: show him in public settings for longer durations. And they were discussing having Biden meet on Wednesday with Democratic governors, many of whom have not had direct contact with the president since the debate, causing exasperation among some who have yet to hear from him.
Much of the anxiety among lawmakers, strategists and operatives is being driven by a double-barreled fear — not just that Biden’s stumbles will cost him the White House, but that they might also make it impossible for Democrats to win the critical races that will decide control of the House and Senate, thus depriving them of a crucial check on the power of a potential Trump presidency.
“He clearly has to understand,” Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., said on CNN on Tuesday, “that his decision not only impacts who is going to serve in the White House the next four years, but who is going to serve in the Senate, who is going to serve in the House, and it’s going to have implications for decades to come.”
Many Democratic offices on Capitol Hill have reported being barraged by calls from their constituents urging lawmakers to ask Biden to step down. Doggett said in an interview that the calls and messages he was receiving from constituents and supporters were “10 to 1” in favor of Biden stepping down. Another recounted that the messages were divided evenly between constituents calling for Biden to withdraw and those who thought he was fit to serve.
For now, leading Democrats are expressing strong backing for Biden. Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the majority leader, said during an appearance in Syracuse, New York, on Tuesday that, “yes,” he believed the president was fit to serve.
“I’m with Joe Biden,” he said.
But for the first time, at least one prominent Democrat who remains behind Biden entertained questions about him withdrawing. Rep. James E. Clyburn of South Carolina, whose support in 2020 helped Biden earn the Democratic nomination, said he would back Vice President Kamala Harris if the president stepped down.
“I will support her if he were to step aside,” Clyburn said on MSNBC on Tuesday, although he added: “I want this ticket to continue to be Biden-Harris.”
© 2024 The New York Times Company