Senate Democrats are exasperated by their inability to quell persistent speculation that party leaders have a Plan B to replace President Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket due to concerns about his age and poor polling numbers.
They are tired of hearing about Democratic voters and donors’ concerns about Biden’s age and eligibility, and tired of reading about Rube Goldberg-type schemes, some of them promoted by Republicans or conservative media outlets, to shake up the Democratic ticket. .
A Democratic senator pretended to hold a make-believe pistol to his temple when asked about the prospect of removing Biden from the ticket before the Democratic National Convention in August or the general election in November.
The senator, who requested anonymity, said the stories about Biden’s replacement on the ticket seem “juicy” but are nothing more than a sign that political pundits have “too much time on their hands.”
“There is no way that this is true, there is no chance that this is true,” the lawmaker insisted. “I do not know what to say.”
The senator said Biden has seen an uptick in polls since a Manhattan jury convicted former President Trump of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records.
“The most recent national [poll] he’s at 50 [percent.] I think this is real”, added the senator.
Biden and Trump are tied at 40 percent in a head-to-head matchup, according to the latest analysis of recent national polls from FiveThirtyEight.com, but Trump has already had a slim lead over the president for months.
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said stories about Biden delivering passage this summer or fall are simply “bizarre.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) also threw cold water on the speculation.
“I haven’t heard of any credible plan B and I’m not counting on a plan B,” he said.
The Democratic senator said Thursday’s debate between Biden and Trump “will be a really critical point” in the campaign and will set the trajectory of the race.
“All the questions people are asking now will have different answers after this debate,” he said. “Ultimately, it will be a choice between the two. I think Biden is much sharper, quicker, and more experienced than even the Democrats give him credit for.
“We all have moments when we can’t remember a name, but that’s not what’s important about being president of the United States,” he said. “I don’t have a plan B, I’m not looking for a plan B.”
Democratic senators have insisted for months that Biden will be their presidential nominee in November and are confident he will beat Trump in the general election.
But this did not stop speculation from appearing in the media that there could be a last-minute review of the fine.
A Democratic fundraising consultant said Democratic strategists and donors sometimes ask whether Biden will still be the party’s presidential nominee in November, but the conversation usually fades quickly.
“If people mention it, if it’s talked about in settings, even if someone says we need an alternative, it’s not really considered something that could seriously happen,” the strategist said.
“You’re talking to someone, someone says, ‘Do we have a backup?’ Something similar. Because honestly, [Vice President Kamala] Harris isn’t really seen as ready for prime time,” the source added.
The Democratic consultant said there is “zero” chance of replacing Biden.
Business Insider released a list of “7 Democrats who could replace Biden if he drops his 2024 re-election bid” earlier this month.
That was followed by “Fox and Friends” co-host Brian Kilmeade asking Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, who was one of the names on Business Insider’s list, in an interview Wednesday if he would be ready to replace Biden. Moore quickly dismissed the theory and declared Biden “the best candidate for president.”
Politico published an article on Thursday reporting that Democratic voters are excited about Democratic candidates but not Biden, citing this as “another ominous sign for the president.”
Politico magazine published an analysis in February warning that “Democrats may need a Plan B” and offering possible scenarios.
Douglas MacKinnon, a political and communications consultant to former presidents Reagan and George H.W. Bush, wrote an op-ed for The Hill last month declaring, “Democrats could still dismiss Biden as an ‘August surprise.’
The Boston Herald reported this week that “several Democratic consultants are speculating that senior party officials could be looking to quietly remove Biden from the ticket before the convention and find a younger, more dynamic leader” like Michelle Obama.
The newspaper asked whether Hillary Clinton, who has kept her name in the news, could be “paving the way for Democrats to choose her as their presidential candidate.”
Journalist Piers Morgan hosted a lengthy panel discussion on his show “Piers Morgan Uncensored” about replacing Biden at the top of the ticket after showing clips of Biden looking confused during a fundraiser in Los Angeles with the former president Obama.
The White House later called the video clip “misinformation” selectively edited to make the president look bad, while Trump shared it on his media platform, Truth Social, with the comment: “Is this really who you want your president to be?”
Media speculation about Biden dropping out of the ticket has been fueled by polls that show most voters think he is too old to be an effective president.
A New York Times/Siena College poll of voters nationwide published in March found that 73% of voters think this, including 61% of voters who supported Biden in 2020.
Kathleen Parker, a columnist for The Washington Post, suggested this month that Democrats could address voters’ concerns about Biden’s age by replacing Harris with former Secretary of State and first lady Hillary Clinton, the party’s 2016 nominee.
“Biden’s steady decline in recent years — his stumbles, his searching for words, his occasional blank stare — has been impossible to ignore,” she wrote.
She argued that Harris is a “significant obstacle” to Biden because independents and disenchanted Republicans might opt for Biden if not for the prospect of a President Harris.”
Durbin, the Senate’s No. 2 Democratic leader, however, called the idea of Clinton running for president or vice president implausible.
“No, I don’t think she’ll run again,” he said.
Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colorado) acknowledged that Democratic voters are alarmed by polls that show Trump has a solid chance of defeating Biden in the fall.
“Everyone has seen the polls and I think people are so alarmed that we could elect someone who turned out to be a demagogue,” he said, referring to Trump.
“Maybe he’s just a dictator for a day… but he’s revealed himself and I think people are very, very worried about that,” he said. “People look at this research and get nervous and anxious, but I don’t think there are any other alternative plans.”
This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story
