US President Joe Biden’s campaign is insisting anew that he is not stepping down from his 2024 election run, despite urging from many Democrats at the highest levels, who believe a different nominee could be the party’s best chance of preventing widespread losses in November.
Isolated as he battles a Covid-19 infection at his beach house in Delaware, Biden’s circle of confidants, which was already small, has shrunk further since he badly fumbled his debate with Donald Trump on June 27.
The president, who has insisted he can beat Trump, the Republican candidate, is with family and relying on a few long-time aides as he weighs whether to bow to the mounting pressure to drop out.
Biden campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillion acknowledged “slippage” in support for the president, but insisted he is “absolutely” remaining in the race and that the campaign sees “multiple paths” to beating Trump.
“We have a lot of work to do to reassure the American people that yes he’s old, but he can win,” she told MSNBC’s Morning Joe show. But she said voters concerned about Biden’s fitness to lead aren’t switching to vote for Trump. “They have questions, but they are staying with Joe Biden,” she added.
At the same time, the Democratic National Committee’s rule making arm expects to meet on Friday, pressing ahead with plans for a virtual roll-call before August 7 to nominate the presidential pick, ahead of the party’s convention later in the month in Chicago.
“President Biden deserves the respect to have important family conversations with members of the caucus and colleagues in the House and Senate and Democratic leadership and not be battling leaks and press statements,” Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, Biden’s closest friend in Congress and his campaign co-chair, told The Associated Press.
It is a pivotal few days for the president and his party: Trump has wrapped up an enthusiastic Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. And Democrats, racing time, are considering the extraordinary possibility of Biden stepping aside for a new presidential nominee before their own convention.
Amid the turmoil, a majority of Democrats think Vice-President Kamala Harris would make a good president herself.
A poll from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that about six in 10 Democrats believe Harris would do a good job in the top slot. About two in 10 Democrats do not believe she would, and another two in 10 say they do not know enough to say.
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Democrats at the highest levels have been making a critical push for Biden to rethink his election bid, with former President Barack Obama expressing concerns to allies and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi privately telling Biden the party could lose the ability to seize control of the House if he does not step away from the 2024 race.
Late Thursday, Montana Senator Jon Tester became the second Democrat in the chamber – and now among nearly two dozen in Congress – calling on him to bow out, saying, “Biden should not seek re-election to another term”.
Campaign officials said Biden was even more committed to staying in the race even as the calls for him to go mounted. And senior West Wing aides have had no internal discussions or conversations with the president about Biden dropping out.
But there is also time to reconsider. Biden has been told the campaign is having trouble raising money, and key Democrats see an opportunity as he is away from the campaign for a few days to encourage his exit. Among his Cabinet, some are resigned to the likelihood of him losing in November.
The reporting in this story is based in part on information from almost a dozen people who insisted on anonymity to discuss sensitive private deliberations. The Washington Post first reported on Obama’s involvement.
Biden, 81, tested positive for Covid-19 while travelling in Las Vegas earlier this week and is experiencing “mild symptoms” including “general malaise” from the infection, the White House said.
The president himself, in a radio interview taped just before he tested positive, dismissed the idea it was too late for him to recover politically, telling Univision’s Luis Sandoval that many people do not focus on the November election until September.
“All the talk about who’s leading and where and how, is kind of, you know – everything so far between Trump and me has been basically even,” he said in an excerpt of the interview released Thursday.
But in Congress, Democratic lawmakers have begun having private conversations about lining up behind Harris as an alternative. One lawmaker said Biden’s own advisers are unable to reach a unanimous recommendation about what he should do.
More in Congress are considering joining the others who have called for Biden to drop out. Some prefer an open process for choosing a new presidential nominee.
“It’s clear the issue won’t go away,” said Vermont Senator Peter Welch, the other Senate Democrat who has publicly said Biden should exit the race. Welch said the current state of party angst – with lawmakers panicking and donors revolting – was “not sustainable”.
However, influential Democrats including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries are sending signals of strong concern.
To be sure, many want Biden to stay in the race. But among Democrats nationwide, nearly two-thirds say Biden should step aside and let his party nominate a different candidate, according to an AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll. That sharply undercuts Biden’s post-debate claim that “average Democrats” are still with him.
