Some Democrats began calling for a president Joe Biden to step aside so that the party can nominate a new candidate after he stumbled badly in Thursday’s debate against his Republican rival, former President Donald Trump.
“This is akin to a champion boxer getting into the ring past his prime and wanting his teammates to throw in the towel,” said one Democratic lawmaker, adding that he meant Biden should withdraw from the race.
The window of opportunity for a switch is limited: If the president doesn’t voluntarily choose to leave, it would require a revolt among the Democratic National Convention delegates, the vast majority of whom were elected on their promise to nominate Biden. But that’s what some Democrats were thinking Thursday night.
It’s “time to talk about an open convention and a new Democratic candidate,” said a second Democratic lawmaker who has been a strong supporter of Biden.
The fear among these Democrats is that the version of Biden who appeared at the debate — a version that resembles the caricature Trump and his allies have painted of a man unfit for the job — cannot win in November.
Even those who want a replacement candidate doubt the party can push Biden aside, aren’t sure which candidate could win the party’s nod in his absence and don’t know whether a replacement could beat Trump in November. Going into the debate, which was hosted by CNN, polls showed a close race between Biden and Trump.
“There’s a sense of shock about how he came out at the beginning of this debate. The way his voice sounded. He seemed a little disoriented. … There’s going to be discussions about whether he should continue,” David Axelrod, a top adviser to former President Barack Obama, said on CNN. “Only he can decide whether he should continue.”
Axelrod predicted that Biden would be reluctant to drop out of the race, noting that “this is a man with a lot of pride…who believes in himself.”
The last time a president up for re-election was not on the November ballot was in 1968. Lyndon Johnson then faced certain defeat in the Democratic primaries and therefore decided not to seek a second full term.
Still, several Democrats predicted that calls for Biden to follow Johnson’s route would grow louder in the coming days.
“The talk of replacement is absolutely going to explode,” said a veteran Democratic strategist who has worked on presidential campaigns. “There is no coming back from this disaster.”
At the same time, Biden’s key allies dismissed the prospect of a change at the top of the ticket. California Gov. Gavin Newsoma Democrat seen by many in the party as a potential alternative to Biden or a future presidential candidate, said “no” when asked if he would urge Biden to end his campaign.
“This is just bad no matter how you look at it,” said one veteran Democratic aide. “But everyone knows it’s too late to switch. But the donors will make those decisions, as they always do. That’s why we got Biden” in 2020.
Before Thursday’s debate, Trump’s campaign released an ad telling voters that if they elect Biden, they will get Vice President Kamala Harris as president — a suggestion that the octogenarian president would die in office or have to resign .
The biggest question Democrats would have to resolve if Biden were to drop out of the race before the convention is whether to nominate Harris — whose approval ratings, like Biden’s, are underwater. Others mentioned Thursday evening include Newsom Governor Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker.
“I look forward to being in Chicago if Gavin Newsom is nominated from the floor,” a Democratic strategist said after the first 20 minutes of the debate. “Should have gone on the attack about abortion. I can’t maintain his line of thought.”
A Biden departure would leave Democrats with a potentially brutal battle over whether to simply elevate Harris, the first Black vice president and first female vice president — a fight that could divide key base voters at a time when the party needs to unify if she hopes to win. Still, the prospect of a bloody battle within the party did not stop some aides from concluding that Biden should go.
“They need to change the nomination now,” one Democratic aide said. “Or just put Harris on top of the card.”
A Democratic strategist with ties to Capitol Hill said lawmakers will be reluctant to publicly call on Biden to give up his campaign.
“No one wants to be first,” the strategist said. “But everyone is now working on brushing up on the DNC rules and procedures.”
The same strategist laid out his own fondness for Biden and his record, pointing to the president’s responses to wars in Europe and the Middle East, his staff appointments and his domestic record — along with Biden’s victory over Trump in 2020. But the strategist also believes Biden should go.
“I’m beginning to think for the first time that calling on Biden to step aside is not heretical; it’s the only responsible thing to do,” he said. “If we lose this election to Trump because we were too afraid to admit we were wrong about his age or too worried about an open convention, we can no longer call our party the defenders of democracy.”
Several current and former Democratic elected officials chose to keep their powder dry when asked about Biden’s display Thursday night.
“The best thing I can do to help Joe Biden is pretend I didn’t get your text,” said a third Democratic lawmaker.
This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
