The New York Times just posted this breaking news: Biden Told Ally That He Is Weighing Whether to Continue in the Race
President Biden has told a key ally that he knows he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he cannot convince the public in the coming days that he is up for the job after a disastrous debate performance last week.
The ally is not named. But the simple fact that this news broke shows that Biden is aware that he cannot continue. Washington leaks like a sieve; he had to know that whoever he spoke to would not be able to keep his/her mouth shut about it.
More and more stories are leaking out from staffers that Biden is no longer as sharp as he was. There is an all-staffers conference call scheduled to address that. More stories coming out:
President Biden is scheduled to meet with Democratic governors tonight following his disastrous debate performance and amid ongoing political fall-out. Gov. Josh Shapiro of Pennsylvania, a crucial battleground state, will attend the meeting virtually, staying in Pennsylvania to “continue working with Democratic and Republican leaders in the legislature to close a budget deal,” Manuel Bonder, his spokesman, said.
My thinking right now is that Biden will ask his delegates to vote for Kamala Harris — and she could well beat Trump. She is younger, and she takes no nonsense from him; she can stand up to him the way Hillary should have and the way Biden tried. She has visibly grown in her office — Biden, having been a VP himself, gave her real responsibilities and mentored her.
When Biden first walked (or shuffled) onto that debate stage, my heart sank. (Trump’s entrance was almost as bad.) It doesn’t matter that he got better toward the end while Trump got worse; the damage was done.
He keeps saying he wants what is best for the country. This is it.
And this just came in as well: Business Leaders Call on Biden to Step Aside.
Leadership Now Project, a coalition of 400 politically active current and retired executives who mostly but not entirely lean left, issued a statement on Wednesday urging Mr. Biden to “pass the torch of this year’s presidential nomination to the next generation of highly capable Democrats.”
The WaPo is reporting how a number of prominent Democrats are suggesting a change: A shift in how Democrats talk about Biden’s dropping out:
The shift in tone is subtle, but it’s telling. These Democrats have increasingly treated this as a real possibility in ways you avoid if the name of the game is to batten down the hatches and stand by your man. And this is not coming from pundits, editorial boards or backbenchers; it’s coming from party graybeards and potential leaders.
Nancy Pelosi:
[O]n Tuesday, Pelosi called it a “legitimate question to say is [Biden’s debate performance] an episode or is this a condition” — saying the same of Donald Trump, for good measure — and suggested this was a conversation Democrats needed to have.
Gov. Beshear (who might IMO be a good choice for Harris’s VP):
“Well, Joe Biden is our nominee, and ultimately that decision on continuing or not will fall to him and his family,” Beshear said. “But I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with asking the president to talk to the American people a little bit more about his health or that debate performance.”
Ill. Gov Pritzker:
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker (D), another talked-about presidential contender, also seemed to choose his words carefully Tuesday night on CNN.
“Look, right now, Joe Biden is our nominee,” Pritzker said. “And I’m 100 percent on board with supporting him as our nominee, unless he makes some other decision. And then I think we’re all going to be discussing what’s the best way forward.”
Pritzker even entertained alternatives like Harris, asserting that they could have broad appeal.
(I would not pick Pritzker for VP — or P. Illinois will vote Democratic, and while Kentucky probably won’t, Beshear has proven he can get Republicans to vote for him.)
Yes, as some have said, in the comments part of this is a media campaign.That does not change the fact that this is a real concern. My first thought when I saw Biden walk out on that stage was that I don’t want him to be my president any more; he does not have the strength for the job. And I’m one who would want to leave the country if Trump or any GOP won the WH (and that’s before the Supreme Court made the president into a king). As the WaPo concludes:
These are not the kinds of things you say if this isn’t something you want Biden to at least think about. And they are a marked contrast to the Biden campaign’s line that this just isn’t a consideration at all.