As Democrats waver on whether President Joe Biden should withdraw as a 2024 presidential candidate, Republicans who have railed against former President Donald Trump are complaining that Democratic leaders have failed to act after his poor performance in last week’s presidential debate.
A small group of former Republican lawmakers and conservative commentators known as the “Never Trumpers” who once professed to support Biden have expressed deep fears that he will not be able to beat former President Donald Trump in the November election, with concerns about his age growing following his shaky debate performance.
These Republicans are exasperated by Democratic officials who, not just in recent days but for months, have sought to downplay and dismiss serious questions about the 81-year-old Biden’s competency and electability.
“They kind of downplayed the concerns about his age,” said Health Mayo, founder of the center-right anti-Trump group Principles First. “To see him come out like that just makes you think this campaign was a blindside not just to the Democratic Party but to the country as a whole.”
Biden’s campaign has repeatedly insisted the president has no plans to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.
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The day after the debate, leading Democrats largely voiced their unwavering support for Biden, with leaders including former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) arguing that the debate was not a race-ending event but rather a “bad night” for Biden.
Sarah Matthews, Trump’s former deputy press secretary and an outspoken critic of her former boss, doesn’t believe that message.
“Stop the gaslighting by throwing out a laundry list of excuses to see what sticks,” Matthews said while criticizing Democratic leaders. “This didn’t happen overnight. You can’t blame this on a shortness of breath or a cold. Ultimately the responsibility lies with the president.”
She and several other anti-Trump conservatives told USA Today they believe Biden should withdraw from the 2024 presidential race and allow younger Democratic leaders to join the fray. They have endorsed Republicans and battleground state governors such as Andy Beshear of Kentucky, Jared Polis of Colorado and Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania.
“The only Democrat who could lose to Trump is Biden,” Matthews said, but added he still thinks Biden could win. “My point is, with him as the nominee, the Democrats are taking a gamble.”
Still, conservatives worried about the possibility of a Trump return to the White House say they don’t expect Democrats to listen to their views on defeating Biden.The Biden campaign has tapped moderate conservatives like former Rep. Adam Kinzinger as surrogates and hired a full-time Republican communications director dedicated to outreach to Republicans ahead of Thursday’s debate, but those efforts don’t mean Democrats will make fundamental choices based on conservative concerns.
Many anti-Trump Republicans who have staked their careers on opposing Trump acknowledge that they are too subject to the whims of the party they once fought for.
Geoff Duncan, a Republican and former Georgia lieutenant governor who at one point considered running for president under a No Labels pact, said Democrats should take the time to “work through this as a family.”
But he added that they are rapidly “running out of time” — there are less than five months until the general election and just over a month until the convention where Democrats will formally choose their nominee.
Whatever Democrats decide, No Trump Republicans said their mission will remain the same: to make sure Trump isn’t re-elected. Members of the informal club said their message to Republicans and moderate voters remains on the assertion that Trump is a danger to democracy., Especially as he faces state and federal indictments for allegedly trying to steal the 2020 election.
But will Trump supporters never leave the Democratic Party if Biden becomes the nominee? Mayo predicted his colleagues would do everything in their power to ensure Biden wins, joking that they would “vote for the tree stump” before Trump.
Duncan acknowledged that the effort was “a lot easier last week.”
