President Biden is getting aggressive and offensive as he tries to fend off calls for him to leave the top of the Democratic ticket, following an uproar in the party over his poor debate performance against former President Trump.
Biden’s new take-no-prisoners strategy is a significant change from last week, when some complained he was late in calling Democrats to counterattack amid growing calls for his withdrawal.
The intention is to buy more time as he and his advisers run out of time before the Democratic convention, while also framing Biden as the person controlling the shots, Democrats close to Biden’s campaign say.
“The strategy is challenging,” said a strategist close to Biden’s inner circle. “It’s basically, ‘I have the delegates, so I control the process here’ and basically, ‘I control the narrative. Democratic voters voted for me to be the nominee and I will be the nominee in a few weeks.’”
In a letter sent Monday to Democratic members of Congress, Biden said it’s time to come together to support him as a way to defeat Trump, firmly rejecting calls for him to resign before lawmakers return to Congress.
“The question of how to move forward has been well exposed for more than a week. And it’s time for it to end,” Biden wrote in the letter. “We have a job. And that is defeating Donald Trump. We have 42 days until the Democratic Convention and 119 days until the general election. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and harms us.
“It’s time for us to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump,” Biden added.
Simultaneously, the president made a live call into MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” on Monday to respond to his critics.
When co-host Mika Brzezinski introduced him as the presumptive Democratic nominee, a laughing Biden said, “I’m more than presumptuous. I will be the Democratic candidate.”
“The bottom line here is we’re not going anywhere. I’m not going anywhere,” Biden told Brzezinski and co-host Joe Scarborough. “I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t absolutely believe I was the best candidate to defeat Donald Trump.”
Later that day, Biden received a call from major Democratic donors promising to defeat Trump and saying he was “done talking about the debate.”
“We can’t waste any more time being distracted,” he told fundraisers.
More than a dozen Democratic strategists, operatives and donors interviewed by The Hill acknowledged they weren’t sure the president’s approach would ultimately work.
There are still doubts about the president’s health and resistance. On Monday, The New York Times reported that a Parkinson’s disease specialist from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center visited the White House eight times in eight months, from last September until this spring. One of the meetings was with Biden’s doctor, the Times reported. The White House dismissed the report, saying a scan of Biden found no signs of Parkinson’s and that the president is not being treated.
Still, Democrats welcomed Biden’s new approach, saying it was a significant and welcome change from the president’s approach last week.
A former Biden administration official said it was a “good political strategy” by Biden and his team. “They are advancing,” said the strategist. “O[Democratic]leadership appears to be quiet or on board. But what we don’t know is whether there is a group of Democrats – and not just one by one – who is willing to jump in front of the bandwagon.”
The former administration official nodded to the time element — the Democratic convention begins in six weeks — in saying the strategy could be effective. “Every week that he is still the nominee means he is more likely to be the nominee,” the official said.
That said, time is running out for the party to overcome its divisions and unite behind a candidate.
“There’s time, but not much, to see how things play out,” said former Rep. Steve Israel (DN.Y.), who served as chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
Israel said Biden could use this week’s NATO summit in Washington to remind donors, activists and voters of his leadership “and continue to prove to the public that the debate was unique.”
But, Israel added, “clarity is fundamental and this climate of doubt and despair cannot continue beyond the middle of the month”.
Democratic strategist Jim Manley acknowledged that he was watching the fallout from the debate “with clear apprehension,” saying he also had difficulty understanding Biden’s lack of involvement last week.
“The idea that it took four or five days to get to [House Minority Leader Hakeem] Jefferies and [Senate Majority Leader Chuck] Schumer was a political malpractice,” Manley said.
But the revised strategy is a “straight shot,” Manley added. “If his goal is to stay in the race, it’s absolutely the right thing to do. They are sending a strong message to the Hill that they are not backing down and that they are drawing a line in the sand.”
After Biden’s call to donors, one Democratic supporter was feeling a little more optimistic than in previous days: “When Biden has some piss and vinegar, how can you not feel better?”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
