WASHINGTON — Democratic leaders are nervously waiting to see whether a new poll shows that Joe Bidensupport for him has waned and he has become a liability in the congressional elections until he took a concerted stand on whether to withdraw from the race, according to interviews with lawmakers, strategists and donors.
So far, the president’s campaign has largely prevented mass defections through a concerted effort to convince party officials that Biden has a viable path to re-election.
Still, many officeholders and Democratic donors remain nervous about Biden’s weak performance during last week’s debate with Donald Trump and wait for a more definitive signal from voters before affirming their support for Biden’s candidacy. There is a sense among Democrats that Biden needs to mitigate the fallout by proactively demonstrating that he has the physical and mental fitness to remain in office.
For now, Biden’s campaign is in a wait-and-see mode, said a person familiar with internal discussions. The view from inside Biden’s world is that no Democratic leader will step forward and call on him to back down without troubling new polling data.
Money — specifically the lack of it — is often what ends political campaigns. If donors abandon Biden, that could leave him with few options but to withdraw, the person said.
Some leading Democrats are cutting ties with Biden, calling on him to withdraw in favor of a younger, more inspiring candidate who can lead the fight against Trump.
Republican Lloyd DoggettD., Texas, became the first sitting Democratic congressman to say Biden should step aside. In a statement Tuesday, Doggett said Biden “still trails Democratic senators significantly in key states, and is trailing Donald Trump in most polls. I had hoped the debate would provide some momentum to change that. That didn’t happen.”
In an op-ed in Tuesday’s paper, Rep. Jared Golden, D., Maine, wrote that Biden’s “poor” debate performance did not surprise him and that he expects Trump to win in November.
Last year, Golden accompanied Biden on Air Force One and Marine One during a visit to the Maine district. Golden told NBC News at the time that Biden is someone who “believes in the character of regular American people.” (Golden is one of five Democrats in the House of Representatives representing a district won by Trump.)
Another Democratic House member said he was leaning toward wanting Biden to end his campaign, but wanted to “see the polls” first.
Amid all the uncertainty, some Democrats are beginning to wonder what might happen if Biden decides to withdraw.
The void at the top of the ticket could expose deep rifts within the party. Some Democratic leaders could rally behind Kamala Harris, the nation’s first black vice president, while others could back a public official who is a trailblazer in her own right and represents a battleground state, like Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.
Rep. James Clyburn, D., S.C., an influential Democratic leader whose support in 2020 helped revive Biden’s struggling primary campaign, made clear where he stands in an interview with Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC on Tuesday.
“This party should not be doing anything to bypass Ms. Harris in any way,” Clyburn said. “We should be doing everything we can to support her, whether she’s in second place or at the top of the ticket.”
The first of two scheduled presidential debates has plunged Biden’s party into murky political territory. In the modern history of the office, no sitting president has withdrawn from a race so late in the election calendar.
Former President Lyndon Johnson came closest when he announced in March 1968 — eight months before the election — that he would not run for another term, despite widespread protests over his escalation of the Vietnam War. If Biden were to withdraw now, a replacement would have just four months to step in and campaign.
Biden campaign officials held a conference call with top fundraisers Monday, who asked questions that suggest donors are indeed fearful. One person on the call asked what the campaign would do if new polls showed a dramatic decline in Biden’s support.
Quentin Fulks, the deputy campaign manager, responded that “the media has spent a lot of time taking this story out of context.”
Blaming the press is a tactic used by both parties. But many Democrats say they are losing patience with the White House’s assurances that Biden is fit and the election winnable.
Some Democrats say an isolated White House staff and campaign team staged Biden’s public appearances for years, surrounding him with teleprompters and postcards, creating a misleading impression of his overall fitness.
The Democratic lawmaker, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said he did not want to speak to the White House after the debate because he didn’t want to hear the “nonsense.”
Democratic lawmakers say Biden’s routine should be modified to put him before voters without the protective bubble wrap that makes a stalled debate even more alarming.
Rep. Debbie Dingell, a Democrat from Michigan, said, “After last Thursday’s debate, [Biden] must be seen. People must see him and he must show that he can do the job.”
Rep. Ro Khanna, D., Calif., said: “He needs to hold town halls and small roundtables with voters in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Nevada, Arizona and Georgia and be as visible to voters as possible.”
So far, only one such appearance has been scheduled. Biden has agreed to an interview with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos later this week, a forum where he can expect to be asked about his cognitive health.
Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., a former Biden staffer from his time in the Senate, said Biden must work aggressively to prove that the debate was truly just one “bad night” and not an indication of something worse.
Connolly suggested that Biden participate in town hall events and rallies. Giving more interviews would also help, he said.
According to research by Martha Kumar, a professor emeritus of political science at Towson State University, Biden has given 128 interviews so far in his presidency, the fewest of any president since Ronald Reagan.
For two years in a row, he has declined an interview about the Super Bowl, missing out on a chance to address the millions of viewers watching the game. Aides explained that viewers were exhausted from politics and would rather watch football.
“You have to work harder now — much harder — to remove those doubts. Otherwise, this is deadly,” Connolly said in an interview. “You have to go out there like you’ve never done before, and in an exhausting way, to convince people that it was indeed a bad night, and that was it.”
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
