Rachel Cohen, a spokeswoman for Senator Warner, would not confirm or deny whether the senator believes Biden should withdraw from the election, instead issuing a statement saying, “Like many in Washington and across the country, Senator Warner believes this is a critical time in the presidential campaign and has made this clear to the White House.”
On Friday afternoon, Biden claimed he was going to “beat Donald Trump” in Wisconsin.
“I’m not going to waste three and a half years of hard work on a 90-minute debate. I’m going to continue my campaign,” he said.
Biden told reporters he’d spoken to at least 20 members of Congress and they all told him to “keep the campaign going.” Asked about Warner’s concerns, Biden said he was “the only one” urging Warner to resign. “Nobody else is asking me to do that,” he said.
As growing concerns mount, senators are weighing how best to convey their concerns to the president, with various tactics being discussed.
One option under consideration is a meeting between senators and Biden at the White House, where proponents say they could express honest concerns directly, even if some senators don’t want Biden to resign. No sitting Democratic senators have publicly called for Biden to resign, but they have been privately sharing their growing concerns with each other over the past week as they fight an already uphill battle to maintain their Senate majority.
Warner, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is seen as a serious personal voice for the president to step down and represents a state Democrats must win in the November election to maintain control of the White House.
There is a growing sentiment among Senate Democrats that Biden’s status as the top contender is untenable, and they are trying to figure out how to best get that message across to the isolated president. Some senators don’t think Biden has anyone around him who can give them an accurate picture of what’s going on, according to a Democratic senator and a senior Democratic aide.
Still, many senators are taking a wait-and-see approach, wanting to see how Biden performs in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Friday night and at a rally in Wisconsin before deciding to take such drastic measures.
Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, has instructed senators to refrain from taking any action until there is more polling data on Mr. Biden and where Democrats stand, according to two people familiar with the conversations. Some Democrats have argued that the polling data cannot be trusted until later this month, given the Fourth of July holiday and an expected Republican vote gain at the national convention.
Warner has not publicly commented on Biden’s debate performance, even though many of his colleagues initially posted messages of support but privately worried about the debate’s fallout.
“The bottom line is, Joe Biden is our president. He’s a patriotic American. He’s done a good job. He puts others first, not himself,” Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Warner’s co-senatorial leader up for reelection this fall, said at a recent campaign rally, as reported by Progress Index. “He had one existential race in 2020 and he had to win it. He’s built a great record as a president.”
If Warner’s group materializes, it would signal a major shift in Democrats’ approach to whether Biden can remain in the race against Trump.
In August 1974, three Republican congressional leaders came to the White House to inform President Richard M. Nixon that he no longer had enough support to survive impeachment over the Watergate scandal, and Nixon resigned two days later.
In this case, many Democratic senators know Biden personally and like him, but are concerned about his future and prospects because his performance in the debate raised questions about his mental state and health.
“I think there’s a recognition among many that the current path may not be sustainable for Trump,” said one Democratic senator, describing the general mood of the caucus. “It’s not just about the debate, it’s about how well Trump can do going forward. He clearly has to show strength now.”
Senators have been home since the debate but have been in touch by phone to voice concerns and figure out a way forward. Schumer has publicly endorsed Biden.
Warner is now preparing to sue over the matter, according to people familiar with the matter.
Warner, a former Virginia governor and former businessman, has at times criticized the Biden administration’s decisions to promote TikTok content and its handling of the classified documents investigation. In 2023, Warner was one of eight Democrats who wrote a letter to Biden urging him to commit more resources to securing the southern border.
Warner has served as a moderate negotiator in the Senate, including helping to negotiate the 2021 infrastructure bill.
