Joe Biden’s stunningly poor performance in Thursday night’s debate has spread panic, confusion and even sadness among the Democratic Party, including among those close to the president.
Serious discussions are currently underway between party leaders, the White House and the Biden-Harris campaign about various options, one of which is whether Joe Biden should withdraw from the presidential candidacy.
Democratic Party officials, political activists and people close to the president paint a picture of Democrats with serious concerns about the caliber of their candidate and whether he or she can beat Donald Trump in November.
Some of the president’s allies I spoke to expressed concern about how preparations for the Atlanta debate were being conducted.
These people say Biden was overprepared and overworked by his campaign, and that he would have performed better if he had been given more time to rest in the week before the debate. Perhaps he had too many opinions, perspectives and data points in his head, which confused him, one campaign official told me.
That analysis may be correct, but the assertion that the president was tired and overworked will do little to assuage very real concerns that Biden’s advanced age may affect his ability to win this election.
These concerns about the president’s age, mental health and stamina — and the insistence that something must be done about it — are nothing new.
In September, prominent political columnist David Ignatius, a Biden confidant, said the president should step down. In February, Ezra Klein of The New York Times said much the same thing in a column that caused both uproar and frustration inside the White House.
Until now, such comments have been one-offs, but after his poor performance in last night’s debate, that all changed.
Early Friday morning, prominent Democratic strategists, commentators, and former government officials called for Biden to withdraw. I appeared on Morning Joe, a popular morning political show for the president. Joe Scarborough, the show’s host and a defender of the president, said Biden can still govern the country, but he may no longer have the power to win an election.
So what happens to Joe Biden?
First, it’s important to remember that the decision to continue is more or less entirely his. At this point, it’s virtually impossible to remove him from the running if he doesn’t want to step aside. One campaign official told me that the decision to step aside will be made by a very small group that includes the president, his wife, and his sister, Val Biden.
Second, the current debate about whether to replace Biden is taking place publicly among experts and former government officials, but only privately among those with real influence.
Indeed, this morning several of the president’s allies (who, troublingly, have also emerged as possible candidates to replace him) took to television and social media to defend him.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said he was “very proud of the president.” Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro told Democrats to “stop worrying.” Senator John Fetterman bluntly stated, “I refuse to join the Democratic vultures on Biden’s shoulders.”
My reports suggest no changes are likely coming anytime soon, as the team wants to give the president a chance to go out in public and erase his memory of the debate appearance.
At a visibly energized rally in North Carolina on Friday, Biden sought to allay concerns about his age and his performance in the debate. “I know I’m not getting any younger,” he said. “I wouldn’t be running again if I didn’t believe with all my heart and soul that I could do this job.”
On Saturday, he is scheduled to visit the ultra-wealthy Hamptons region of New York state for a fundraiser with Democratic donors.
Campaign sources say there’s only about a 5% chance he’ll drop out at this point, but campaign officials acknowledge that if donors abandon him en masse, that could change and a decision on his candidacy could come sooner.
Opinion polls on public reaction to the debate are due in the coming days and will also shape the discussion.
Already, the campaigns have presented instant debate polling data showing independent voters reacted more unfavorably to Donald Trump than to Joe Biden, and they hope to see similar results in follow-up polls.
Joe Biden has been discounted many times in his political career: when he first ran for Senate he was told he was too young, when he considered running for president in 2016 he was told it wasn’t his time, and in 2020 many felt he didn’t represent the future of a diverse Democratic Party.
He has made a habit of ignoring skeptics. The only people he really trusts are a few close advisers he’s had for years. I’ve heard those advisers, including Ron Klain and Mike Donilon (who prepared him for that disastrous debate), also believe Joe Biden is the only person who can beat Donald Trump.
They were right in 2020. Are they still right today?
To be sure, Joe Biden has a history of staging comebacks, but many Democrats worry that this time will be different.
