President Joe Biden told a key ally that he knows he won’t be able to salvage his candidacy if he fails to convince the public in the coming days that he can serve after a disastrous performance in last week’s debate.
The president, who this ally stressed is still deeply committed to his re-election fight, understands that his next few appearances before the holiday weekend have to be very good, especially an interview scheduled for Friday with ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
“The president knows that two more events like this will put him in a different position” by the end of the weekend, the ally said, referring to Biden’s halting and rambling debate speech. The person, who spoke with the president in the past 24 hours, asked to remain anonymous to discuss the delicate situation.
White House spokesman Andrew Bates said the report was “absolutely false” and that the White House had not been given enough time to respond.
The conversation is the first sign that the president is seriously considering whether he can bounce back from his dismal performance on Thursday’s debate stage in Atlanta. Concerns are mounting about his viability as a candidate, as are questions about whether he can carry out the duties of the presidency for another four years.
Yesterday, several of his allies stressed that Biden still wanted to fight to maintain control of his candidacy, even as the headwinds against his party became increasingly stronger.
A senior Biden adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the situation, said the president was “well aware of the political challenge he faces.” On Wednesday, the person added that Biden was aware that the outcome of his campaign could be different than he planned, but that he is convinced he is an effective leader with a sharp mind and “doesn’t understand why others don’t accept him.” Biden remains steadfast in his belief that his debate performance was just a blip, not a breakthrough event.
Campaign officials were on edge yesterday awaiting the results of a new poll, acknowledging that negative numbers could add fuel to the fire. A CBS News poll released in the morning showed former President Donald Trump leading Biden 50 percent to 48 percent nationally and 51 percent to 48 percent in battleground states since the debate.
Biden has been slow to reach out directly to key Democrats, further angering the party and frustrating some of his own advisers. On Tuesday night, five days before the debate, he called only Representative Hakeem Jeffries of New York and leader of the House Democratic caucus, and on Wednesday morning, he spoke for the first time with Representative Chuck Schumer of New York and Senate majority leader.
As of Tuesday, he had yet to speak to Representative Nancy Pelosi of California, the former House speaker, and top donors expressed exasperation that the president had not joined a campaign call on Monday that was meant to reassure him.
Yesterday, Democratic leaders in the House and Senate did not encourage their members to back Biden, but instead listened to a myriad of complaints from all corners of the party, from centrists to progressives.
The message from leaders was that party members should feel free to take whatever position on Biden’s nomination best suited their districts. Members of Biden’s team — including Steve Ricchetti and Shuwanza Goff — were taking calls, trying to stem the growing discontent.
The dilemma facing Democrats was illustrated by the behavior of Joe Manchin, a West Virginia senator and longtime Democrat who recently left the party. The senator was so disillusioned with Biden’s debate performance that he asked aides to schedule several interviews with him on Sunday to rail against the state of the campaign.
Manchin was also furious that he called high-profile Democrats who didn’t return his calls. Ultimately, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., Schumer and other Democrats stepped in, and Manchin canceled his television appearances. Other lawmakers who have been open to the idea of replacing Biden have received calls from his campaign asking for more time to get back on track.
The president was scheduled to have lunch yesterday with Vice President Kamala Harris and meet with Democratic governors in the afternoon at the White House. So far, he has focused more on speaking with his trusted advisers and family members, who have encouraged him to stay in the race.
Several Biden allies have stressed that the president remains committed to the most important fight of his political career and largely sees this moment as an opportunity to make a triumphant comeback after being slighted, as he has done many times throughout his 50-year career.
At the same time, these allies said the president is well aware that he faces an uphill battle to convince voters, donors and the political class that his debate performance was an anomaly.
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In recent days, some of Biden’s advisers have sounded increasingly pessimistic as unrest in the party has only grown, a reflection of dissatisfaction not only with the debate performance but how it was handled afterward.
Democrats have been baffled that the president is relying on the advice of his son, Hunter Biden, who was convicted last month of gun charges from his time using crack cocaine, rather than that of senior party leaders.
They have reacted angrily to attacks on fellow Democrats, dubbed by the campaign as the “coward squad,” for expressing concerns about Joe Biden’s ability to beat Trump. And suspicions are growing among some Democrats that the president’s staff has not been entirely honest about the impact that aging has had on the president.
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