PRESIDENT Joe Biden sought to revive his faltering re-election bid Sunday as members of his party debated the future of his candidacy. A stalled debate appearance last week raised serious questions regarding his physical and mental capacity to run.
A primetime interview with ABC on Friday fueled further speculation regarding the future of his campaign.
Amid the uncertainty, Biden appeared at two campaign events in key swing state Pennsylvania on Sunday. But those efforts haven’t stopped fellow Democrats from weighing the risks and benefits of keeping Biden, 81, at the top of the ticket.
On Sunday followingnoon, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries held a meeting with Democratic lawmakers to discuss Biden’s nomination.
Four of those on the call said they thought Biden should step down, according to CBS. At least three others expressed concerns regarding his chances in November, sources said. Several prominent Democrats also aired their views in television interviews over the weekend, seeking to answer the question: Is it riskier to stick with Biden or walk away?
Some say the party might be headed for defeat once morest Donald Trump in November, if Biden stays in, but others say replacing him brings a lot of uncertainty.
Read also: Biden Hopes for Easy Win in South Carolina
Potential in New Beginnings
Amid the fallout from Biden’s poor debate performance, calling on the president to step down might bring immediate relief. Some Democrats, including staunch supporters of the president, say concerns regarding his age and mental abilities are hard to overcome.
The debate “rightly raises questions among the American people regarding whether the president has the strength to defeat Donald Trump,” California Rep. Adam Schiff said Sunday.
Schiff stopped short of saying Biden should step down in his NBC News interview — a position five House Democrats have publicly taken so far. Instead, Schiff urged him to seek advice from people with “distance and objectivity” and make a decision regarding whether he believes he is the best candidate to run.
Read also: Joe Biden Warns of Second Trump Term at Fundraiser
“Given Joe Biden’s incredible record, given Donald Trump’s terrible record, Biden should ‘destroy’ Trump,” Schiff said.
“It shouldn’t be close and there’s only one reason it’s close, and that’s the president’s age.” Biden is 81, while Trump just turned 78. The age of the two candidates has become an increasingly contentious point among voters.
On the left, polls show some voters are losing faith in Biden. In a Wall Street Journal poll released Friday, 86% of Democrats said they would support Biden, down from 93% in February. Other candidates may offer fresh starts in other areas, too.
Also read: Joe Biden slams Donald Trump during campaign rally in his birthplace
Before this wave of Democratic panic, Biden had been criticized by voters for several policies, including his handling of the U.S. economy and the migrant crisis at the country’s southern border. The president faces a threat of defections from progressive voters who oppose his response to Israel’s war in Gaza. Their resistance cost him more than 100,000 votes in Michigan — a key state — during the February primary.
A Biden ticket “would drag everybody down,” former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan said Sunday in an interview with Fox News. “I think you’re going to see significant pressure either today or tomorrow, sometime this week, as members come back that this may not be tenable for them.”
Uncertainty Is Too Risky
Any benefits of Biden’s loss may be tempered by the risks that lurk, some Democratic leaders say. If the president steps down, much of what happens followingward remains unclear: Who will replace Biden, and how? In recent days, some Biden allies have emphasized the pitfalls of charting a new course, arguing that Biden has been a proven success.
“Biden is old,” Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, 82, said on CBS News on Sunday. “He’s not as articulate as he used to be. I wish he might jump up the stairs on Air Force One. He can’t. What we should be focusing on is policies — whose policies have and will benefit the most people in this country.”
California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who spent the weekend campaigning for president, said the same thing at a rally in Doylestown, Pennsylvania on Saturday.
“This is the hypothesis that is blocking progress in advancing this candidacy,” Newsom said. “This is exactly where the other party wants us to be, which is to have this internal fight, and I think it’s very unhelpful.”
Biden’s public supporters say replacing him might be an immediate boon for Trump’s Republican Party, who might argue that their opponents are drowning in party chaos.
“We need to stop talking regarding this,” Rep. Debbie Dingell of Michigan said on CNN on Sunday. “We’ve had a great week. Republicans are having a great time. I mean, we need to get back to talking regarding Donald Trump and his performance.”
Defending Harris
Earlier this week, former Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan floated a potential replacement: Biden’s Vice President, Kamala Harris. “I firmly believe that our best path forward is Kamala Harris,” he wrote in an op-ed for Newsweek.
“Those who say that Harris’ nomination is a bigger risk than the Joe Biden we saw last night and will continue to see are not living in reality.”
Despite her only staunch support for Biden, the idea of Harris, 59, replacing Biden has gained traction in recent days. In a Sunday morning interview with Adam Schiff, the congresswoman said Harris might win once morest Trump “very convincingly.”
As vice president and the 2020 Democratic nominee, supporters say he is campaign-tested and well-known to the Democratic establishment and fundraisers.
Harris “knows her stuff,” former Democratic National Committee chair Donna Brazile said on ABC on Sunday. “To ask delegates selected to the convention who support Biden-Harris to skip Kamala Harris… that would be political malpractice.” But what makes her attractive to supporters might also be a weakness: age isn’t the only grievance voters have with Biden, and the administration’s baggage on policy choices might extend to Harris. (BBC/Z-3)
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