Ever since his disastrous performance at the June 27th debate, President Biden has faced slow but increasingly mounting calls from elected officials to step down as the Democratic nominee, as more and more begin to view his candidacy as unviable. Head to head polling against former President Donald Trump has shown a slight decline in support, but a staggering 67% of Americans now believe Biden needs to step down on account of his age.
Throughout all of this, Biden and his allies have maintained that he has absolutely no intention of stepping down. They have remained defiant, and continue to point to internal polling that they claim he’s within the margin of error, but won’t release publicly. Many Democratic party officials suggest that Biden’s defiance derives from the fact that he maintains an incredibly tight inner circle of family members and advisors who continue to believe and advise the president that he can, in fact, win the election.
The defiance of the Biden campaign seems to be at odds with the numbers and data other elected Democrats are getting, which show that Biden not only has diminished his chances of winning, but also risks dragging down ballot Democrats with him. It has triggered a party wide bout of anxiety, as there are very few who plausibly see Biden being able to turn this around. The issue is ultimately of his age, and ability to run an energetic campaign, has alarmed at least some voters who many not necessarily vote for Trump, but aren’t excited for Biden either.
While only a handful of elected officials have actually publicly called on him drop out, there is reportedly a large swath of electeds who would like to make the calls. This has now been reflected in Biden’s recent interactions with senior Democratic party leadership, such as former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, as well as former President Barack Obama, who Biden views as reliable advisors and allies.
Jeffries went to the White House last week to relay House Democrats’ concerns to the President, and the discussion was reportedly very candid which included Jeffries telling Biden that he believed Biden imperiled Democrats’ chances in the House, which is within an arms’ reach of control of the chamber. Schumer also met with Biden at his home in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, where he was even more candid and reportedly told Biden that he should ‘step aside’ from the 2024 race.
The bigger stories were, however, from party heavy weights former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and former President Barack Obama. According to CNN, Pelosi talked to President Biden last week where she very bluntly told him that the numbers were not on his side. According to sources, Biden got very defensive about the polling, after which Nancy Pelosi had to ask another Biden official on the call to discuss the data.
According to the Washington Post, even former President Obama, who has notably stayed silent throughout much of the process, has expressed doubts in Biden’s electoral capabilities to aides and officials. Obama is sensitive when it comes to pushing Biden since was among those who dissuaded Biden from running for President in 2016, in favor of Hillary Clinton. However, these private concerns are just another example of the dam breaking.
The campaign has also seen a decline in fundraising from top donors, as well as grassroots donations, including a group of wealthy donors witholding nearly $90 million in donations to a Super PAC unless Biden were to step aside.
Biden, who has been incredibly resistant about the suggestion of stepping down, has also become increasingly receptive about the discussion, including asking questions about how Vice President Kamala Harris would fare.
A grim NBC News report, now suggests that Biden’s political world is beginning to collapse from underneath his feet, as now even some ardent supporters are beginning to see the writing on the wall. “We’re close to the end.” one official, close to Biden, said.
The reporting seems to indicate rapid increases, then gradual declines in the calls for Biden to step down. This latest wave unfolded very quickly after a pause due to the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump. Democrats wanted to give Biden an opportunity to respond to the situation.
Juxtaposed to the very visible unity of the Republican party through their National Convention this week, the chaos and division in the Democratic party conveys confusion and struggles that may only subside if a definitive decision is made; even if it seems like there’s a very obvious decision that many Democrats are pointing to.