President Joe Biden is set to meet with Democratic governors on Wednesday as he faces increasingly worrying poll numbers and calls from some quarters to withdraw his candidacy, including from a congressional Democrat.
Officials announced on Tuesday that Biden will engage with governors and Capitol Hill leaders this week to reassure them of his capabilities and address growing dissatisfaction within the party following his poor debate performance against Donald Trump.
This news follows Texas Congressman Lloyd Doggett’s public call for Biden to step aside, making him the first Democrat in the House to do so.
As of Tuesday evening, a Democratic aide revealed that 25 House Democrats are preparing to urge Biden to withdraw.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll released Tuesday indicated that one in three Democrats believe Biden should end his re-election campaign after his lackluster and confusing debate performance in Atlanta.
Speaking at a campaign event in Virginia on Tuesday evening, Biden attributed his weak debate showing to his international travels prior to the event, saying: “I wasn’t very smart.
I decided to travel around the world a couple times, going through around 100 time zones … before … the debate.
Didn’t listen to my staff and came back and nearly fell asleep on stage.
That’s no excuse but it is an explanation.”
He also noted that his campaign had raised $38 million since last week.
Despite high-profile party figures offering public support, concerns continue to simmer privately.
Doggett expressed his doubts openly, saying he had hoped the debate would boost Biden’s stagnant poll numbers in key battleground states, but it did not.
“Instead of reassuring voters, the president failed to effectively defend his many accomplishments and expose Trump’s many lies,” Doggett said.
Doggett urged Biden to emulate former President Lyndon Johnson, who chose not to seek re-election amid mounting opposition.
He called this potential move an “LBJ moment.”
“I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by Lyndon Johnson. Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw,” Doggett said.
“President Biden should do the same.”
Johnson withdrew from the 1968 election amid opposition to the Vietnam War and primary challenges within his party, including from Robert F. Kennedy, whose son is running as an independent in the 2024 election and polling at levels that could further hurt Biden in a close race.
Doggett, at 77 years old, just four years younger than Biden, acknowledged the president’s legislative successes but insisted it was time for a younger generation to take over, noting Biden’s 2020 campaign promise to be a transitional figure.
“While much of his work has been transformational, he pledged to be transitional,” he said.
“My decision to make these strong reservations public is not done lightly nor does it in any way diminish my respect for all that President Biden has achieved.
Recognising that, unlike Trump, President Biden’s first commitment has always been to our country, not himself, I am hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to withdraw.
I respectfully call on him to do so.”
It remains uncertain whether Doggett’s stance will inspire other Democrats to speak out amidst anecdotal and polling evidence suggesting the CNN debate has damaged Biden’s standing.
A new poll in New Hampshire, which Biden won by 10 points in 2020, now shows him trailing Trump by two points since the debate.
While Biden’s campaign has portrayed the debate as an isolated incident and vowed a robust comeback, some Democratic ranks have expressed dissatisfaction, including state governors who reportedly felt neglected by the president.
Even some seemingly supportive figures, such as former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and South Carolina Representative Jim Clyburn, have made statements hinting at their concerns.
“I think it’s a legitimate question to say, is this an episode or is this a condition? When people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate – of both candidates,” Pelosi told MSNBC, noting she had heard mixed views on Biden’s fitness for the campaign.
Additionally, Vermont Senator Peter Welch criticized the Biden campaign for dismissing age-related concerns.
“But that’s the discussion we have to have,” he told Semafor.
“It has to be from the top levels of the Biden campaign to precinct captains in the South Side of Chicago.
… The campaign has raised the concerns themselves … So then to be dismissive of others who raise those concerns, I think it’s inappropriate.”
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