A challenger Joe Biden laughed on Friday at the idea that his main allies in Congress would convince him to drop out of the presidential race.
“They’re not going to do it,” he told ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos. Senate Majority Leader Chuck SchumerHouse Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries and former president Nancy Pelosi? He had already spoken to all of them, he said.
And, in fact, there was no such public appeal on Saturday from those numbers – no raising of questions, no airing of concerns.
Instead, there was silence. Including, visibly, Schumer and Jeffries.
The top two Democrats in Congress have said nothing publicly. Asked to comment on the interview, Schumer’s team declined, while Jeffries’ team did not respond to POLITICO’s request.
It was not the kind of show of force that suggested an end to the political crisis triggered by the president’s difficult debate performance last week. Biden sought to end the turmoil within the Democratic Party, demonstrating his vigor and ending talks about his replacement on the ticket. He gave a powerful speech before a crowd of hundreds in Wisconsin, participated in two radio interviews and gave an interview to ABC News, during which he was repeatedly asked about his age and viability until November.
But public questions about his age and mental acuity continued to mount Saturday, starting when Minnesota Rep. Angie Craig issued a statement calling for Biden to withdraw from the race, making her the first battleground House Democrat to do so (Craig has said in the past that she believes the party needs a “new generation” leadership). She is now the fifth member of the House to make this call, as others increase their skepticism about the president’s chances of defeating the former president. donald trump.
Controversy also escalated on Saturday when two radio hosts said Biden aides provided them with questions for the president’s interviews on Friday. Biden campaign officials defended the process as typical, with advisors sharing posts on X who described this as standard practice.
The question of the state of Biden’s re-election campaign – which the president has tried so hard to answer – would continue to dominate Sunday.
Sunday’s shows will feature some of Biden’s allies, including Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Mich.) and Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.). Before issuing a brief statement Friday about Biden being “who our country needs,” Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, one of Biden’s top allies, pulled out of a Sunday interview on CBS’s “Face the Nation.” His team did not respond to a request for comment on why the congressman canceled his appearance.
All eyes will also be on the president during his campaign trip Sunday in Pennsylvaniawhere Biden will attend a church in Philadelphia before traveling to Harrisburg for an afternoon event.
And with the House and Senate set to return to Washington on Monday, questions are emerging about whether a range of Democrats will go public with their private fears about Biden in the coming days, or whether the party will unite behind the president and his fight to take on Trump.
“No one is more committed to defeating Donald Trump and defending our democracy than Joe Biden, and few know better than Joe Biden the importance of showing up and campaigning to win the support of voters,” said Trump’s campaign spokesperson. Biden, Kevin Munoz. “This was always going to be a close race – and the dynamics at play are ones we have long predicted: voters remain deeply concerned about Donald Trump and his harmful agenda, and the more we engage with and reach voters, the more they support President Biden . There are still many days until election day, and the hard work to win every vote is far from over.”
Pelosi’s team also initially said it would not comment. Less than an hour later, shortly after the Biden campaign was contacted for comment, spokesman Ian Krager issued a statement: “Speaker Pelosi has complete confidence in President Biden and looks forward to attending his inauguration on January 20, 2025 ”.
White House and campaign officials shared new polling on Saturday. Bloomberg News/Morning Consultation showing Biden with his best performance to date in swing states, with the president now leading Trump in Michigan and Wisconsin. And the campaign doubled down on its message in a fundraising email to supporters on Saturday titled: “Experts got it all wrong.”
“I understand that you can’t turn on the television or go online without seeing some expert talking about how I need to drop out of the race. Nonsense,” the email said. “I want you to ask yourself: What have these people been right about lately? Seriously. Think about it.”
It’s the same stance that struck Democratic operatives and lawmakers in Congress after Friday’s ABC News interview, when several told POLITICO that president was in denial about your position in the race. On Saturday, deputy Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) told MSNBC there is a risk of “rejecting critical voices.”
“I think the White House has done a terrible job of reaching out to those who they know have deep doubts,” he said. “By not having this type of disclosure, you are leaving individuals to their own devices and their own judgment. As we have seen, this has led to the erosion of support in some circles.”
The president had nothing on his public agenda on Saturday. Biden’s campaign said he attended a biweekly meeting with campaign co-chairs in the morning to “thank them and discuss their shared commitment to winning the 2024 race in the face of the dire threat that Donald Trump poses.”
Several Biden allies on the Hill were on the call, including Clyburn, Sens. Chris Coons (D-DE.) Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Rep. Veronica Escobar (D-Texas) and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE). Coons, Clyburn and Blunt Rochester issued statements Friday night following the interview, reiterating their belief that Biden is the best candidate to defeat Trump.
But as House Democrats continued to be questioned Saturday in media appearances and interviews, it became clear that little had changed after Biden’s interview: The president’s defenders continued to support him, while others more loudly expressed their concerns.
“As long as the president says he can do this work, then that is the way forward,” said the deputy. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) told MSNBC. She was one of the first to defend Biden, speaking to reporters in the press room immediately after the debate in Atlanta. The same happened with the deputy. Roberto Garcia (D-Calif.), who echoed Crockett in saying Biden won the support of Democrats when millions of voters chose him in the primaries.
At the ESSENCE Festival in New Orleans, where Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to appear, Rep. Maxine Águas (D-California) said that Biden would not be replaced on the ticket by another candidate.
“Hell, I’m older than Biden,” Waters, 85, said to applause during a panel with four members of the Congressional Black Caucus. “No matter what anyone says, there won’t be another Democratic candidate.”
But not all Democrats were so sure.
Representative. Scott Peters (D-California) told the New York Times that he was losing confidence in Biden’s ability to win and that the party would be “foolish not to look in another direction” if it believed that the president would lose. Representative. Sydney Kamlager-Dove (D-California) said at the Essence festival that the party’s victories did not depend solely on Biden, asking for support for the vice president.
Craig’s Call for Biden to Quit was particularly striking because she represents a swing district that voted for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020. In her Saturday morning statement, she cited not only the debate itself, but “the lack of a forceful response from the president himself after this debate.”
Some congressional Democrats are worried that Biden’s problems could be an electoral hurdle. With the party facing a brutal path to retaining the Senate, and Biden falls further behind in the pollsAttention has increasingly turned to Democrats’ efforts to claim the House as a possible bulwark against full Republican Party control.
The next few days will be closely watched as lawmakers return to Washington on Monday. Democrats in both chambers are expected to speak privately in the coming days — conversations that will likely serve as a venue to air their grievances about Biden’s performance and try to chart a path forward.
Jeffries will meet with Democratic ranking members on Sunday and Biden’s viability is expected to be raised. And in the Senate, the senator Marcos Warner (D-Va.) has approached Senate Democrats to organize a discussion on Biden’s path to re-election, while Schumer will hold a routine leadership meeting on Monday night, which will allow him to meet in person with several members from your bench.
“Biden is a very decent human being and a legendary leader in many ways. I have no doubt about his ability to make good decisions and finish this term as POTUS,” said a House Democrat after Friday’s interview, who was granted anonymity to speak candidly. “But, frankly, he is not prepared to simultaneously be POTUS and be a convincing candidate for re-election. It’s too much for him, and although it’s obvious to almost everyone, he seems stubbornly blind to this reality.”
Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.
