The waves of panic coursing through the Democratic Party in the wake of President Joe Biden’s alarming debate performance have left party elders and officials scrambling this weekend to answer two distinct questions: Will Biden drag down the entire ticket, particularly in critical House and Senate races? If not him at the top of the ticket, then who? “A true succession plan does not exist,” a senior Democratic adviser to the Biden campaign said on Saturday. “That’s what makes all of this not just heartbreaking, but very problematic.”
Quick Read
Sure, here are the bullet points summarizing the situation:
- Concerns in the Democratic Party: Panic following President Biden’s poor debate performance, raising questions about his impact on critical House and Senate races.
- Succession Uncertainty: Lack of a clear succession plan if Biden steps aside; discussions among party officials and advisers are ongoing.
- Polling and Research: Democrats conducting research to understand the political fallout, focusing on maintaining control in key contests.
- Potential for Biden to Step Aside: Biden might consider stepping aside only if data shows his candidacy risks down-ballot races.
- DNC Response: The Democratic National Committee held a standard call, with limited discussion of Biden’s performance, emphasizing battleground state efforts.
- Protests and Public Sentiment: Biden faced protests urging him to drop out during a fundraiser in East Hampton, reflecting some public sentiment.
- Campaign Unity Efforts: Biden’s campaign working to keep the party united, monitoring any dissent from current or former officials.
- Calls for Change: Former Sen. Tom Harkin suggested Biden release his delegates to allow the convention to choose a new candidate.
- Obama’s Involvement: Obama urged party unity and did not suggest Biden step aside, focusing on the contrast between Democratic and Republican leadership.
- Fundraising and Campaign Events: Biden attended fundraisers in East Hampton with key figures and family members, navigating donor concerns post-debate.
- Jill Biden’s Support: Jill Biden emphasized her husband’s capability and experience, asserting he is the only person for the job during a fundraiser.
- Debate Aftermath: Addressing concerns after President Biden’s poor debate performance, she highlighted his judgment, experience, and global relationships.
- Campaign Involvement: Jill Biden has been actively supporting her husband, emphasizing his commitment to democracy and Americans’ welfare.
- Public Defense: At an LGBTQ fundraiser, she acknowledged the debate issues but reaffirmed their determination to continue the campaign.
- Personal Connection: Sharing personal anecdotes, she stressed Trump as a threat to rights, urging supporters to work harder for the campaign.
- Resilient Message: Jill Biden echoed her husband’s sentiment of resilience, encouraging others to push through challenges.
The Associated Press has the story:
Democrats conducting polls to determine damage for Biden & the ticket following debate
Newslooks- (AP)
The waves of panic coursing through the Democratic Party in the wake of President Joe Biden’s alarming debate performance have left party elders and officials scrambling this weekend to answer two distinct questions: Will Biden drag down the entire ticket, particularly in critical House and Senate races? If not him at the top of the ticket, then who? “A true succession plan does not exist,” a senior Democratic adviser to the Biden campaign said on Saturday. “That’s what makes all of this not just heartbreaking, but very problematic.”
New research is being conducted by Democrats throughout the weekend and into early next week in an effort to gain a deeper picture at the extent of the political fallout, particularly in key contests that will determine whether the party can win back its House majority and maintain its narrow control of the Senate.
A second longtime adviser said the only way Biden would even consider stepping aside — a move that is still very much an open question — is if he was presented serious data showing he would not only likely lose his reelection bid, but also endanger House, Senate and competitive local races across the country.
The Biden campaign has long had polling that found Democrats would still support down-ballot candidates even if they didn’t vote for Biden. If the president’s debate setback would make some of these voters far less inclined to vote at all — handing a turnout advantage to Donald Trump and Republicans — Biden could be confronted with a starker reality.
“The party is in President Biden’s hands – for better or worse,” a Democratic senator said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He deserves our respect and space to reach any decision.”
Attendee says DNC glossed over Biden’s debate performance in “pretty standard hype call”
President Joe Biden speaks during the presidential debate at CNN’s Atlanta studios on June 27.
The Democratic National Committee largely glossed over President Joe Biden’s poor debate performance during a call Saturday afternoon with its members and leadership, according to one attendee.
The call, which included Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodriguez, was a “pretty standard hype call,” according to RL Miller, a climate activist and California DNC member, who described the call in a series of posts on X.
“This call only obliquely mentioned the thing rattling Dems (right now) (Thursday debate) but instead was a pretty standard hype call, I mean ‘DNC is investing lots in battleground states so keep doing the work’ call,” Miller said. “And that’s probably as much as we’re ever going to get.”
Miller said that Harrison acknowledged that Biden did not debate well, and quoted the president’s assertion that while he is no longer young, he knows how to tell the truth and knows right from wrong.
DNC spokesperson Hannah Muldavin said the call was part of a regular quarterly convening of its members to share updates on the state of the campaign. Harrison provided updates on the Biden campaign’s fundraising —a bright spot — organizing, and robust phone banking and texting efforts, Muldavin said.
Some protesters urge Biden to drop out as he arrives at East Hampton fundraiser
President Joe Biden has arrived at the site of an East Hampton fundraiser, according to reporters traveling with the president.
Just before arriving, reporters said the motorcade passed a group of people holding signs that read: “Please drop out for U.S.,” “Thank you next,” “Step down for democracy” and “We love you but it’s time.”
Biden has already made one stop in the tony New York enclave. The meeting earlier Saturday was a more intimate setting for high-dollar donors, according to one source familiar with the event, and was scheduled well before the debate.
Biden campaign works to keep party in lockstep
From CNN’s Jeff Zeleny
President Joe Biden’s campaign has worked feverishly behind the scenes to keep the Democratic wagons circled around the president, with advisers taking note of any current or former elected officials speaking ill of the president or publicly suggesting he should step aside.
Former Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin, who served alongside Biden in the Senate for decades, dashed off a pointed letter to friends after the debate.
“All incumbent Democratic Senators should write to Biden asking him to release his delegates and step aside so the convention can choose a new candidate,” Harkin wrote, according to a copy of the letter. “A couple of Governors may need to do the same.”
Harkin, 84, said there was still time for a course correction and a new Democratic ticket, which he believes “would energize the party at all levels and capture the general public’s attention – many of whom would like an alternative to Trump.”
Obama urges party to stay united: At a fundraising event in New York on Friday, where former President Barack Obama was raising money for House Democrats, whispers rippled through the crowd over whether Obama could implore Biden to step aside for the good of the party. Obama did not entertain such a notion during his brief remarks, focusing instead on the need for the party to stay unified, energized and focused on drawing a sharp contrast between Democratic and Republican rule.
For years, the relationship between Obama and Biden and their circle of advisers was strained by Obama’s decision to support Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid in 2015 and urge his former vice president not to run. This moment “is even more fraught,” one longtime Obama adviser said Saturday.
The DNC is holding a call today: The Democratic National Committee will hold a call with members Saturday afternoon, a source familiar with the plan said. The call, which will include DNC Chair Jaime Harrison, will “recap Thursday night’s debate,” and also feature discussion of DNC updates and voter mobilization efforts.
After president’s debate debacle, Jill Biden delivering the message that they’re still all in
EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) — Jill Biden was right at her husband’s side Saturday as they exited Air Force One to head for a pair of campaign stops at luxurious vacation homes on Long Island. And she got straight to the point when it was her turn to introduce the president at a tony fundraiser.
“Joe isn’t just the right person for the job. He’s the only person for the job,” she declared.
The first lady also told donors, “Anyone can tell you what they want to do, but Joe Biden can tell you what he’s done with his judgment, his experience, and his relationships with leaders across the globe.”
The first lady is trying to rally support for her husband after a dreadful performance in Thursday’s presidential debate created fresh worries about President Joe Biden’s age and his ability to compete in November’s election and to serve another four years.
The community college professor has been by her husband’s side since he exited the debate stage as he faces what could be a defining challenge of his presidency — the president says that democracy itself is on the line in his race against former President Donald Trump.
It’s a reflection of the first lady’s influence, her love of her husband and the pressure confronting an 81-year-old candidate whom many voters worry is too old to serve another term as president. While Trump’s wife has been noticeably absent from the campaign trail, Jill Biden has taken a leading role, wearing a dress Friday decorated with the word “Vote.”
Less than 24 hours after her husband’s disastrous debate, she stood before a crowd in Greenwich Village and spoke glowingly about her husband without any nod to the swirling controversy over whether he is up to another term.
“Joe will never stop fighting for this country and for communities like this one,” she said at an event at the Stonewall National Monument, a symbol of LGBTQ+ pride. “That’s who Joe is. He wakes up every morning thinking about how he can make the lives of Americans better.”
She was more frank, though, later in the day at a LGBTQ fundraiser in the city, saying of her husband’s debate performance, “I know it’s on your minds.”
“As Joe said earlier today, he’s not a young man,” she allowed. “And you know, after last night’s debate, he said, ‘You know, Jill, I don’t know what happened. I didn’t feel that great.’ And I said, ‘Look, Joe, we are not going to let 90 minutes define the four years that you’ve been president.’”
The first lady went on to deliver a spirited defense of the president’s abilities, signaling there was no stepping back from his intent — their intent, really — for him to press forward with his campaign.
“What my husband does know how to do is tell the truth,“ she said. “When Joe gets knocked down, Joe gets back up, and that’s what we’re doing today.”
Jill Biden, 73, has long been her husband’s chief confidant and public defender, but her role looms larger this year and is attracting increasing scrutiny from Trump supporters, some of whom question whether she’s the one doing the steering these days.
When the first lady gripped the president’s hand as he left the debate stage on Thursday night after his halting performance, Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas reposted the video on X with the question, “Who is the Commander in Chief?”
Jill Biden, early on reluctant to embrace the role of political spouse, is all in.
Earlier in the year, when voters were in denial that Biden truly would seek another term, it was Jill Biden who squashed the idea he might not go through with it.
“How many times does he have to say it for you to believe it?” the first lady told The Associated Press in a February interview during a trip to Africa. She added, “He says he’s not done. He’s not finished what he’s started. And that’s what’s important.”
As a native of the Philadelphia area, her tone has grown increasingly feisty as she has told supporters that Trump has gotten “my Philly up.” But the race with the former Republican is tight and she told the fundraising gathering on Friday that, “We have to work harder than we’ve ever worked before.”
She doesn’t just talk up her husband’s best attributes, she regularly recounts stories of their courtship and life together for supporters. During Friday’s events, she told the LGBTQ+ gatherings that Trump is a “threat” to their rights and “we can’t let him win,” a sign that she won’t shy from the gritty business of politics.
Last month, the first lady delivered a commencement address to community college students in Arizona, where she talked about ignoring the doubters and pushing forward with their goals.
“The next time someone tells you that you ‘can’t,’ you’re going to say, ‘Oh yeah? Watch me,’” she said.
It was an echo of the words her husband has used on multiple occasions when questioned about his ability to do the job for another four years: “Watch me.”
Biden arrives in the Hamptons alongside campaign co-chair
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden arrive at Francis S. Gabreski Airport in Westhampton Beach, New York, before traveling to East Hampton on June 29. Evan Vucci/AP
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden have arrived in East Hampton, New York, where the president will attend a pair of fundraisers as he plots a path forward from his debate performance — and disappointed donors could air their grievances.
Biden is notably joined by campaign co-chair Jeffrey Katzenberg, who was spotted by a reporter boarding Air Force One at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, where Biden attended events Friday.
Two of the president’s granddaughters, Finnegan (Hunter Biden’s daughter) and Natalie (Beau Biden’s daughter) are also traveling, according to the pool report.
Marine One touched down in East Hampton just before 1:30 p.m. ET, and the president held hands with the first lady as they walked to their SUV, which made the short drive to the first fundraising site, 60 Further Lane.
The campaign later said the president had arrived at a “campaign meeting.”. Per reporters traveling with Biden, the motorcade is at the home of Avram and Jill Glazer. Avram Glazer is a businessman who is an owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and is co-chairman and director of Manchester United.
