President Biden\u2019s senior advisers ramped up efforts to soothe skittish Democrats on Monday, placing a flurry of calls to lawmakers, contacting donors and circulating an internal poll suggesting he had not lost ground after his much-criticized debate performance. At the same time, party officials finalized a timeline to formally nominate Biden within weeks, a move that could limit talk of alternative candidates.<\/p>\n
Taken together, the actions by the small circle of Biden\u2019s most loyal advisers were meant to reemphasize that the president has no plans to exit the race despite calls from a range of allies who worry he cannot recover from last week\u2019s debate performance, which at times created an image of a raspy-voiced elderly man who struggled to complete a thought.<\/p>\n
Jen O\u2019Malley Dillon, Biden\u2019s campaign chair, held an urgent call with more than 500 donors Monday evening to try to stabilize a network whose members have spent the past several days in a frenzy of text messages and phone calls, discussing their renewed fears and widespread anxiety about the president\u2019s chances.<\/p>\n
She acknowledged that the debate did not go as they had hoped and that the campaign has significant work to do, according to people on the call. But she also reiterated the challenges for Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, and said the Biden campaign did not believe the contours of the race had been altered by the debate.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, Democratic Partly leaders are pushing ahead with plans to formally nominate Biden in a virtual roll call Aug. 5, two weeks before their convention Aug. 19-22 in Chicago. That vote was originally a technicality to meet Ohio\u2019s early candidate certification deadline; the deadline has now been pushed back and the virtual nomination is unnecessary, but party leaders are proceeding with it.<\/p>\n
The Aug. 5 date has not been finalized. But if it holds, Biden would become the official nominee in about five weeks, leaving no chance for the open nominating convention that some have proposed.<\/p>\n
The flurry of activity highlighted the agonized state of the Democratic Party: Despite painful doubts about Biden\u2019s prospects in the general election, Democrats are moving toward nominating a candidate many view as damaged against an opponent many view as catastrophic. Some are anxiously waiting for independent polls to emerge in the coming days, showing either a significant drop in Biden\u2019s support or an electorate unfazed by Thursday\u2019s performance.<\/p>\n
Biden himself spoke from the White House late in the day to criticize a Supreme Court decision granting the president immunity for acts undertaken in his official capacity. He used the moment to underline his argument that whatever his own shortcomings, a second Trump presidency would be catastrophic for American democracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor all practical purposes, today\u2019s decision almost certainly means that there are virtually no limits on what the president can do,\u201d he said, adding that he pledges \u201cto respect the limits of the presidential powers.\u201d He noted that the decision means it is \u201chighly unlikely\u201d that Trump will be prosecuted before the election in November, which he called \u201ca terrible disservice to the people of this nation.\u201d<\/p>\n
Biden spent the past two days at the Camp David presidential retreat, and the mood in the White House on Monday was quiet and somber, staffers said. Jeff Zients, Biden\u2019s chief of staff, acknowledged on a call with top aides that it had been a tough weekend but urged them to focus on the administration\u2019s work.<\/p>\n
Zients and Steve Ricchetti, another top White House aide, have spoken with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) as part of their efforts to calm the waters, according to people familiar with the conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose private discussions.<\/p>\n
Though some allies are urging Biden to look for ways to show his continued vigor, his office has released a light schedule of activities for this week.<\/p>\n
Some advisers have discussed responding to the concerns about the president\u2019s age and abilities by doing a television interview, but no final decision has been made. Biden is 81 years old, and Trump is 78.<\/p>\n
No prominent Democratic officeholder has called on Biden to leave the race, and many are forcefully expressing ongoing support. But some party strategists said they do not believe that the Biden campaign can continue as before after engineering a June debate \u2014 with the goal of laying to rest concerns about Biden\u2019s clarity of thought \u2014 only to have it backfire.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s the way gambling works,\u201d one Democratic strategist said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to be frank about a sensitive issue. \u201cIf you make a bet and you lose, you pay up. This is a huge bet that they made, and they lost.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Biden campaign has been releasing a steady drumbeat of fundraising figures to show that support has not faltered. But at least some of Biden\u2019s high-dollar donors are clearly rattled. One top fundraiser said that \u201cit\u2019s Armageddon\u201d among donors. \u201cUnless he shakes up the campaign and shows leadership, it\u2019s going to be a really, really tough time with money,\u201d this Democrat said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to offer a candid appraisal. \u201cPeople have got to see changes.\u201d<\/p>\n
One major supporter, who has given to Biden but mostly focuses on democracy-related nonprofit work, created a Google Doc on Friday to poll other donors about the path forward after the debate.<\/p>\n
This person, speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect the participants and their associates, said 65 donors responded over the weekend. About 74 percent supported the option that read \u201cwe need a Plan B,\u201d including consideration of new Democratic presidential and vice-presidential candidates. Participants could also say they continued to support Biden (15 percent) or were not sure yet (11 percent).<\/p>\n
Some Democrats say they are frustrated because they want to raise what they see as urgently needed questions about Biden\u2019s viability, but they worry that that could give fodder to the Trump campaign.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he\u2019s our horse, you\u2019re undermining your candidate,\u201d a prominent Democratic strategist in a swing state said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to talk freely. \u201cIt\u2019s a no-win situation.\u201d<\/p>\n
That has not stopped governors and lawmakers from \u201cfreaking out\u201d and demanding conference calls to figure out what to do, the strategist said, but \u201cthe problem is there is nothing to do for anybody\u201d because only Biden and his inner circle can decide whether he withdraws.<\/p>\n
The president already faced a challenge attracting enthusiasm from such groups as young people and Black voters. Now, there is growing concern that plummeting enthusiasm could impact not just Biden but other Democrats, giving Republicans a better chance in gubernatorial, Senate and House races.<\/p>\n
One member of the Democratic National Committee expressed frustration at the campaign\u2019s insistence that voters appreciated the president\u2019s optimism about the country and were repelled by Trump\u2019s apocalyptic worldview during the debate. The DNC member said that despite deep doubts about Biden, the party\u2019s leaders have been unwilling to entertain serious discussions about replacing him on the ticket.<\/p>\n
This person said Democrats\u2019 determination to stand by Biden reminded them of Republicans\u2019 history of rallying behind Trump despite his falsehoods, criminal convictions and anti-democratic tendencies.<\/p>\n
A key Biden strategy before the debate was to try make the election about Trump\u2019s ostensible unfitness for office. On Monday, Biden campaign officials tried to amplify that argument in the wake of a Supreme Court decision that Trump is immune from prosecution for official acts he took as president, although that immunity may not shield all his efforts to overturn the 2020 election.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe danger of a second Trump presidency cannot be underscored,\u201d Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.) said on a call organized by the Biden campaign. \u201cIt is far and away the biggest threat since the Civil War. If Joe Biden is not elected in November, we will not have the democracy that we have known for 250 years.\u201d<\/p>\n
Campaign officials largely deflected questions about Biden\u2019s debate performance or whether it has prompted any change in strategy, simply declaring that the threat of Trump is more important.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m scared as s\u2014. And I think Americans are scared, and should be scared, of what Donald Trump will do, because he\u2019s been telling us for months,\u201d Quentin Fulks, the principal deputy campaign manager, said on the call.<\/p>\n
The campaign also released an ad Monday focusing on Trump\u2019s own debate performance, in which he was far more forceful and animated than Biden but offered numerous falsehoods.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe most lies told in a single debate,\u201d Biden said in the ad, which showed remarks he made at a rally in Raleigh, N.C., on Friday. \u201cHe lied about the great economy he created. He lied about the pandemic he botched. And then his biggest lie \u2014 he lied about how he had nothing to do with the insurrection on January 6th.\u201d<\/p>\n
Geoff Garin, a top pollster for the Biden campaign, circulated new internal poll results that he said showed the president\u2019s standing was unchanged, aimed at bolstering the campaign\u2019s argument that the debate performance told voters nothing they did not already know. Many who support Biden, they contend, have long recognized that he is exhibiting signs of age but are backing him nonetheless.<\/p>\n
Garin said the online poll, conducted for the campaign over the weekend, showed that Trump holds a narrow lead in a head-to-head test against Biden that is similar to the one he held in May. Garin predicted that public and private polling over the coming weeks will show the same result.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe think this measures the impact of the debate, and really the full impact of the debate,\u201d Garin said in an interview. \u201cThose voters who were concerned about his performance are sticking by him in overwhelming numbers and just think that Trump is a completely unacceptable alternative.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the same time, O\u2019Malley Dillon warned Democrats over the weekend that a dip in the polls might be coming because of \u201coverblown media narratives\u201d about Biden\u2019s performance. Many Democratic donors and elected leaders say they are awaiting public and private polling to decide whether to publicly push for Biden to consider leaving the race.<\/p>\n
Independent polls both before and after the debate have showed that large majorities of the country do not believe that Biden is up to the job. A CBS-YouGov poll from last weekend found that 72 percent of voters said he does not have the mental and cognitive health to serve as president, up from 65 percent in June.<\/p>\n
Biden\u2019s advisers \u2014 and the president himself \u2014 say that while he may stumble verbally and walk stiffly, he is as sharp as ever mentally and fully capable of making nuanced, consequential decisions. They point to what they say is a clear record of legislative success and global leadership, and say Trump too often gets a pass for speeches that are increasingly incoherent.<\/p>\n
But few Democrats would dispute that the electoral landscape is showing worrisome signs for Biden. A new post-debate poll in New Hampshire, a state that Biden won by seven percentage points in 2020, showed Trump ahead by two percentage points. The previous poll by the St. Anselm College Survey Center, in December, showed Biden up by 10 percentage points.<\/p>\n
Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.), who has been floated as a possible candidate if Biden withdraws, said the debate marked \u201ca very bad night for the president.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBut he is still the candidate. Only he can make decisions about his future candidacy,\u201d Beshear told reporters in Kentucky. \u201cSo as long as he continues to be in the race, I support him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amy Gardner, Yasmeen Abutaleb, Dan Balz and Scott Clement contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
President Biden\u2019s senior advisers ramped up efforts to soothe skittish Democrats on Monday, placing a flurry of calls to lawmakers, contacting donors and circulating an internal poll suggesting he had not lost ground after his much-criticized debate performance. At the same time, party officials finalized a timeline to formally nominate Biden within weeks, a move […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":5731,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5730","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5730","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5730"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5730\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5731"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5730"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5730"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstriumphs.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5730"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}