Democrats are increasingly concerned about Joe Biden

NEW YORK (AP) — Concern is growing within the highest echelons of the Democratic Party that leaders of Joe Biden’s campaign and the Democratic National Committee are not taking seriously enough the impact of the president’s troubling performance in Thursday’s debate.

DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison held a conference call yesterday followingnoon with dozens of committee members from around the country, a group of some of the most influential members of the party.

Harrison did not acknowledge Biden’s weak performance Thursday night or the avalanche of criticism that followed.

Several committee members on the call, most of whom requested anonymity to discuss the private discussion, said they felt like they were being set up, that they were being asked to ignore the party’s dire situation.

The call, they said, may have worsened a widespread sense of panic among elected officials, donors and other stakeholders.

Instead, sources said, Harrison offered what they described as an optimistic assessment of Biden’s path forward.

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“I was hoping for a more substantive conversation rather than saying, ‘Hey, let’s go out and cheerleader,’ without really addressing a very serious issue that played out on American television for millions of people to see,” said Joe Salazar, a DNC member-elect from Colorado who was on the call. “There were a number of things that might have been said to address the situation. But we didn’t get it. We were being played.”

Many donors, party strategists and rank-and-file members of the Democratic National Committee are saying publicly and privately that they want Biden, 81, to step aside to allow the party to select a younger replacement at the Democratic National Convention in August.

For now, though, Biden’s closest allies insist he remains well positioned to compete once morest Republican Donald Trump and have given no indication they will pressure him to end his campaign.

Those best positioned to replace him — including Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer — reiterated their support for Biden following the debate.