Congressional Democrats are divided over Biden's future after debate performance
Democrats returned to Capitol Hill Monday still deeply divided over President Biden and his future within the party. Many Democrats are publicly and privately struggling with serious questions about Biden's fitness for office after a string of disappointing public appearances and private meetings that raised further questions Biden's age and ability to lead.
The responses from Democrats have ranged from clear support:
"I'm for Joe," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. told reporters in the Capitol.
To scathing calls for Biden to step aside:
"If the President continues his campaign, it would be a mistake," wrote Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee. "He should step aside now so that we can find a new candidate that will put us in the strongest possible position to beat Donald Trump in November."
Other lawmakers have stopped short of calling on Biden to step aside, but have voiced concern about his candidacy since his debate with former President Donald Trump.
Sen. Tina Smith, D-Minn., told reporters, “I have a lot of concerns and I’m not the only one." Smith, who is also vice chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said Democrats would have a more robust conversation in their caucus meeting Tuesday.
So far, Biden has responded with defiance.
"I am not going anywhere," Biden said Monday in an interview with MSNBC's Morning Joe. "I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t absolutely believe that I’m the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump in 2024."
Despite Biden's insistence, Democrats in Washington view this week as a critical test of his support. Biden will meet with world leaders at the NATO summit in Washington and Democrats will be watching.
Some Democrats want to see more from Biden
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the president has his support, but added that Biden "has to more aggressively address what’s at stake in this election and earn the support of the American people."
Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said Democrats need to have an "open discussion" about the path to winning the White House, House and Senate. Bennet said "many, many people" raised the issue of Biden's future last week as he was campaigning in Colorado.
"I need to be able to see that [Biden] is ready to go out there and campaign day and night, vigorously and passionately in all in certainly in the battleground states and in states all across the country," Bennet said.
Senior Democratic Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said in a statement that "President Biden must do more to demonstrate he can campaign strong enough to beat Donald Trump."
"At this critical time for our country, President Biden must seriously consider the best way to preserve his incredible legacy and secure it for the future," Murray, the Senate pro tem, said.
Supporters want to shift the focus back to Trump
Sen. Mark Kelly, D-Ariz., Arizona said he's been hearing from constituents supportive of Biden remaining in the race.
"The sentiment — and I agree with this — is Joe Biden is our nominee," Kelly said. "Millions of people voted for Joe Biden to be on the ballot. He's on the ballot, and I truly believe he's going to win in November."
Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Wash., urged people to "zero in" on the contrast between Biden and Trump.
"It was one rough night," Wyden said. "You want a lot of rough nights? You're going to get four years of them if you elect Donald Trump."
After a meeting with other House Democrats, Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries told reporters, "I made clear publicly the day after the debate that I support President Joe Biden and the Democratic ticket. My position has not changed."
This comes a day after four more Democrats publicly called for Biden to step aside.
Biden reaches out to Black allies in the House
Members of the Congressional Black Caucus met virtually with Biden Wednesday evening. Black voters helped propel Biden to victory in the 2020 Democratic primary and remain a key demographic to his reelection hopes.
Rep. Frederica Wilson, a member of the caucus, said in a statement that the call "reaffirmed [her] support for Biden and Harris."
"President Biden’s call with the Congressional Black Caucus tonight showed his unwavering dedication to our nation’s future and that he is in this fight," said Wilson, D-Fla. "He’s committed to fighting for the soul of our nation and Black economic progress, and I stand with him for another four years because he’s consistently stood with my community."
Transcript
MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Democrats returned to Capitol Hill today after a holiday week break that was far from a vacation from politics. The party is in turmoil over how to move forward following President Biden's disastrous debate performance and an on-camera interview that did not go far enough to dispel questions about his age and fitness for office. This morning Biden was defiant on MSNBC's "Morning Joe."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "MORNING JOE")
PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: I am not going anywhere. I wouldn't be running if I didn't absolutely believe that I am the best candidate to beat Donald Trump in 2024.
KELLY: Is it enough when calls from fellow Democratic lawmakers for Biden to step aside are getting louder? NPR congressional correspondent Claudia Grisales joins me now. Hey, Claudia.
CLAUDIA GRISALES, BYLINE: Hi, Mary Louise.
KELLY: OK, so we just heard a little taste there of his appearance. That was MSNBC this morning. Biden also wrote a long letter today defending his plan, saying, I'm staying in the race. Did those two things help? What are you hearing?
GRISALES: No, I'm hearing that both sides are still unmoved. And there's two categories here, those who are speaking publicly and those who are speaking privately. Some key members raised concerns over the weekend about Biden remaining in the race, including four committee leaders, such as Adam Smith of Washington state, who's the top-ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee.
But so far, the ranks of people explicitly calling for him to drop out are smaller than those backing him. For example, Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer said today, quote, "as I've said before, I'm for Joe." He will play a major role on the next steps. His counterpart in the House - that is, House Democratic Leader Hakim Jeffries - also backed Biden recently. That all said, there's many speaking privately about their quiet concerns and hopes for Biden to leave the race, including a handful of senior House Democrats who expressed those concerns in a private call with Jeffries and other leaders yesterday.
KELLY: Claudia, in that answer, I just heard you use the word private or privately three times. It sounds like lawmakers are saying one thing out loud and another thing privately. You've been talking to some of these lawmakers. What are they saying to you?
GRISALES: Right. They were granted anonymity to speak candidly about these private conversations. They worry there's limited time for Biden to leave the race. And by the time of their August convention, it will be too late. One told me they thought Biden was fragile, and a couple of members also told me they're concerned that Biden and the White House have now dug in. So the challenge here is this could present great political risk for members who do decide to speak out publicly. Now, Democrats will have their regular weekly meeting tomorrow, and they say that's going to be a major test and a chance to decide if they'll all push together for a nominee. And we can say the same for Senate Democrats, who are holding their regular meeting tomorrow as well.
KELLY: Well, where does this Sleeve Biden's relationship with his fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill?
GRISALES: This is clearly a low point. There's significant concern that Biden hasn't addressed the alarm after his debate performance. One told me they wanted to see Biden replace some key advisors on his campaign team. That has not happened. And his outreach overall on the Hill appears low, even in the midst of this crisis, and that's perhaps why we continue to see fallout here. So ultimately, this is a test for congressional Democrats. Can they get on the same page, and also, how much influence do they have here?
KELLY: Claudia, are you detecting any pattern here? You said there are two camps, two categories - those who want to push Biden to stay in the race, those who want to push him to drop out.
GRISALES: Right. We're seeing Democrats generally in safe blue districts defend Biden. That includes Florida Democrat Frederica Wilson, who put out a scathing statement. She said, quote, "any leader calling for Biden to drop out needs to get their priorities straight and stop undermining him." She said, stop listening to the political pundits, and focus on what's at stake. So this is going to be tricky. The Congressional Black Caucus, for example, will have a call with Biden tonight. That's another test in terms of where he can move members to speak out publicly in his favor. But we're seeing these concerns, and ultimately, this is a political test for Biden, and some are worried that he's treating it like a medical test.
KELLY: NPR's Claudia Grisales on Capitol Hill. Thank you, Claudia.
GRISALES: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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