WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected to discuss the future of his reelection campaign with his family at Camp David on Sunday, following a nationally televised debate Thursday that left many fellow Democrats concerned about his ability to beat former President Donald Trump in November, according to five people familiar with the matter.
Biden’s trip was planned before Thursday’s debate. He and first lady Jill Biden are expected to join their children and grandchildren there Saturday evening.
So far, top party leaders have publicly offered their support for Biden, including in tweets by former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton. Senior Democrats in Congress, including Reps. Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Jim Clyburn of South Carolina and Nancy Pelosi of California, have privately expressed concerns about his viability, two sources familiar with the discussions said, though they all publicly support the president.
A Democratic House member who believes Biden should withdraw from the race — but has not yet publicly called for it — told NBC News that three colleagues expressed the same sentiment to him during House votes on Friday.
At the same time, leading Democrats agree that Biden should be given space to determine his next steps. They believe that only the president, in consultation with his family, can decide whether to move forward or end his campaign early — and that he won’t respond well to being pushed.
“The decision makers are two people: the president and his wife,” said one of the sources familiar with the discussions, adding: “Anyone who doesn’t understand how deeply personal and family-related this decision will be is not aware of the situation.”
This story of a president and his party in crisis With just over four months until an election they say will determine the fate of democracy, this report is the result of interviews with more than a dozen officials, operatives, aides and donors of the Democratic Party. All spoke on condition of anonymity to describe such sensitive topics as whether a sitting president could forfeit re-election and how he might be replaced at the ballot box.
Despite a rousing speech at a rally in North Carolina on Friday that calmed some of his allies, Biden was described by a person familiar with his mood as humiliated, lacking in confidence and painfully aware that physical images of him during of the debate – his eyes staring into the distance, mouth agape – will live beyond his presidency, with a performance that is sometimes meandering, incoherent and difficult to hear.
“It’s a disaster,” this person said.
Another person familiar with the dynamic said Biden would ultimately listen to only one adviser.
“The only person who has ultimate influence over him is the first lady,” this person said. “If she decides there needs to be a change of course, there will be a change of course. »
Anita Dunn, one of Biden’s closest advisers, said Saturday on MSNBC’s “The Weekend” that Biden had not discussed dropping out of the race with his advisers and that internal discussions had focused on moving forward.
“We had a bad debate,” Dunn said. “What should we do next?” You know, the president, first and foremost, is focused on what we need to do next. What should I do ? »
These private discussions between Biden, his family members and top advisers come against the backdrop of a reckoning for Democrats who have been shocked both by Biden’s appearance and the frequency with which his thread of thought seemed to stray from the path.
His campaign held a conference call Saturday with members of the Democratic National Committee, which a Biden campaign official described as an effort to reassure party officials and demonstrate that his team is communicating with allies.
“We are driving this,” the official said.
Parliamentary leaders did not hesitate publicly and their collaborators denied having expressed their doubts behind closed doors.
“Speaker Pelosi has full confidence in President Biden and looks forward to attending his inauguration on January 20, 2025,” said Ian Krager, a spokesman for the former House speaker. “Any suggestion that she has committed to a different course of action is simply false.”
Christie Stephenson, a spokeswoman for Jeffries, the House minority leader, said her boss has “made clear repeatedly, publicly and privately, that he supports President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket from top to bottom “.
Clyburn’s office did not respond to a request for comment, but he told reporters Friday that he is still with Biden.
Biden’s top advisers and aides have asked his staff to stay the course in meetings and discussions. Their message, according to a senior administration official: “We will weather the storm, as we always have.”
Sources described three groups of Democrats: those who will defend Biden regardless of the circumstances, those who are ready to dump him and those who are waiting to see what he does — and what his poll numbers will be in the days and weeks to come – before passing judgment. This is the third installment that Democratic insiders are watching closely.
“Democrats need to take a deep breath and look at these polls and look at swing voters,” said a state Democratic Party chairman. “Until I see it differently, he’s the one who put this coalition together, he’s the one who has the record, he’s the one who beat Donald Trump. Until I see it differently, he’s the one who’s best positioned to beat Donald Trump.”
The Biden campaign declined to comment for this article, instead pointing to a Saturday memo from campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon that argued Biden could still win, pointing to the more than $27 million raised between the day of the debate and Friday evening.
However, O’Malley Dillon raised the possibility of tough polls ahead, but said the blame will lie with the media: “If we see any changes in the polls in the coming weeks, it won’t be the first times that exaggerated media narratives will cause temporary drops in polls. »
The debate among some Democrats is over the best path for the party to defeat Trump: stick with an 81-year-old incumbent who could have another moment like Thursday night at any time between now and Election Day, or opt for another candidate whose path to the nomination at the party convention next month could be a complicated process.
Biden insisted Friday that he would remain the party’s standard-bearer in November, telling the crowd at his Virginia rally: “I wouldn’t run again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and with all my soul that I can do this work. »
The president has spent much of the past 48 hours attending fundraising events with some of the Democrats most concerned about the impact of his debate.
He addressed it head-on at an event on Saturday.
“I understand the concern aroused by the debate, I understand,” he added. “I didn’t have a good night.”
Party elites will only urge him to leave the race if they believe he is “unviable and has a negative impact on the House and Senate elections,” said a major donor close to Obama and Biden.
The wait-and-see approach involves recognizing that there is no obvious replacement for Biden and that his departure could trigger a bloody last-minute battle within the party that could hand Trump an easy victory.
There is also no possible way to force it from its perch. All but a handful of Democratic convention delegates were elected following their promise to nominate him at the party’s convention in August. If he chooses to run for this nomination, party members say, he will get it.
Moreover, according to a senior Democratic official, if Biden were to step down after receiving the nomination, the party leadership would have much more control over choosing a replacement than if he had done so beforehand. Once a candidate is officially nominated, members of the Democratic National Committee must choose a successor. Biden is the dominant force within the DNC, and his preference for a successor would certainly have influence.
If Biden were to come out before then, his delegates could do what he asked them to do — but they wouldn’t be bound in the same way they are now. In this scenario, delegates could nominate anyone, and there could be a political fight in the convention.
“We need to have as much discipline as emotion,” the senior Democrat said. “It’s not politically smart for Biden to resign.”
News Source : www.nbcnews.com
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