As Democrats fret over Biden, Murphy says he must address voters’ concerns

Connecticut Democratic Sen. Christopher S. Murphy said Sunday that President Biden’s first television interview since his disastrous debate performance failed to allay deep concerns about his age and mental acuity, and that the president still has work to do to convince voters he is fit to run and win reelection.

“Voters have questions,” Murphy said on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

He added: “I personally love Joe Biden, and I don’t think the interview on Friday night was enough to answer those questions. This week is going to be absolutely crucial. I think the president needs to do more.”

Mr Murphy said he would urge Mr Biden to “hold a town hall meeting, a press conference, to show the country that he is still the old Joe Biden”.

He avoided directly answering the question of whether Mr Biden should withdraw, saying: “I know there are a lot of voters who need to be convinced that Thursday night’s debate performance was a bad night.”

Mr. Murphy’s carefully calibrated comments were one of the first public warning signs among the ranks of Senate Democrats, who have been mostly silent since the debate more than a week ago but have grown increasingly concerned about Mr. Biden’s ability to serve as the party’s nominee. It came as Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York, the minority leader, was scheduled to convene top House Democrats later Sunday to discuss Mr. Biden’s candidacy, and at a time when a handful of his ranks have already publicly called on the president to step down.

Mr. Murphy’s comments reflect the position of many Senate Democrats heading into this crucial week: They want to give Mr. Biden a little more breathing room to prove himself, or leave the race on his own terms, before explicitly asking him to do so. But they are also aware that there may be no way, at this point, to prove to voters that he is not too old to defeat former President Donald J. Trump.

Mr. Murphy said he believed Mr. Biden could still defeat Mr. Trump. But he added that “the president has to answer the questions that voters are asking.” Mr. Murphy repeatedly stressed during the interview that Mr. Biden must prove himself “this week” in “improvised” conversations with voters.

“They need to see more from the president, and I hope we see it this week,” he said.

The senator’s message also appears to be aimed at warning the president and his entourage that the posture of defiance in the face of real questions about Mr. Biden’s candidacy cannot hold. The president has denied that several Democrats have asked him to step down and said that only divine intervention could persuade him to drop out of the race.

“There are still questions,” Murphy said. “Time is running out.”

Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island publicly expressed concerns last week about the campaign’s openness about Mr. Biden’s health, but he stopped short of calling for him to step down. And Senator Peter Welch of Vermont warned of a “violent undercurrent” for Democratic candidates in the House and Senate if the Democratic presidential nominee loses badly in November.

Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner is also working to bring together Democratic senators this week to discuss the path forward and their concerns about Mr. Biden remaining the nominee. Mr. Warner has privately expressed anguish over the president’s performance in the debates and doubts about his ability to stay in the race and win reelection.