President Biden has been bolstered by a series of endorsements as he battles to save his re-election campaign.
Democrats in Congress debated his future behind closed doors at a meeting described by one as “like a funeral” and by another as “sad” amid a pervading sense they are lumbered with Biden as their candidate.
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Biden, 81, locked down support from the congressional Hispanic caucus and key leaders on Capitol Hill including Hakeem Jeffries, the party leader in the House of Representatives, Chuck Schumer, the Senate leader, and Steven Horsford, the congressional black caucus leader, as well as prominent members of the left-wing “Squad”.
The loudest applause was for an appeal from party leaders to keep details “among the family” amid concerns that public shows of disunity were damaging election prospects not only for Biden but for Senate and House seats.
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Many Democrats leaving the meeting refused to comment and there were voices for and against the president continuing his campaign. Asked if members were on the same page, one told reporters: “We’re not even on the same book.”
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However, many appeared to be coming round to Biden as the most pragmatic option at this stage, given the difficulty of removing him after he won the party primary, his determination to fight on, loyalty to his lifetime’s work for the party and the complications of a potential fight over a replacement who would have an uncertain standing with the electorate.
The signs that it would be a good day for Biden came early when Jerry Nadler, the ranking Democrat on the House judiciary committee, backed Biden despite having reportedly said in a leadership call at the weekend that he should step aside.
“He said he’s going to remain in, he’s our candidate, and we’re all going to support him — hopefully we’re all going to support him,” he said on the way into the main caucus meeting.
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Only seven House members are on record calling for Biden to quit the race. One of them, Mike Quigley of Illinois, said: “The fighting spirit and pride and courage that served the country so well four years ago and helped Biden win will bring the ticket down this time. He just has to step down because he can’t win and my colleagues need to recognise that.”
Another, Lloyd Doggett of Texas, said: “The debate cannot be unseen. The president has been running behind, we needed a surge and we got a setback. He is a great man, he has made a great contribution to the country but he shouldn’t leave a legacy that we surrender to a tyrant.”
Ritchie Torres of New York said: “Joe Biden is our nominee and we have to make the best of a complicated situation. I’m viewing it pragmatically.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Squad, said: “The matter is closed … Joe Biden is our nominee. He is not leaving this race.”
However, on Tuesday night a Democratic senator became the first party member in the upper house to say that Biden could not win in November.
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“I just think this race is on a trajectory that is very worrisome if you care about the future of this country,” Michael Bennet of Colorado told CNN, after reports that he was one of three Democrat senators at a private lunch on Tuesday to express the view that Biden would lose to Donald Trump. The other two, who refused to comment publicly, were named as Jon Tester of Montana and Sherrod Brown of Ohio — both of whom are in tough races to defend their seats.
“Donald Trump is on track, I think, to win this election, and maybe win it by a landslide and take with him the Senate and the House,” said Bennet, who stopped just short of calling on Biden to step aside. “For me this isn’t a question about polling or politics, it is a moral question about the future of our country … We have four months to figure out how we’re going to save the country from Donald Trump.”
Pressed on whether Biden should throw in the towel, Bennet said: “This is something for the president to consider.”
George Stephanopoulos of ABC News, who interviewed Biden last Friday, has been caught on camera saying, “I don’t think he can serve four more years.”
TMZ published a video clip of Stephanopoulos responding to a New Yorker in the street who asked him, “Do you think Biden should step down? You’ve talked to him more than anybody else has lately.”
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Stephanopoulos later issued a statement, saying: “Earlier today I responded to a question from a passer-by. I shouldn’t have.” ABC News said: “George expressed his own point of view and not the position of ABC News.”
In a Zoom call on Monday night, Biden told the congressional black caucus: “I need you. I’m not going to disappoint you, I promise you.”
Troy Carter, a member of the caucus from Louisiana, said: “As I’ve gone through my district, the African-American community stands firmly with President Joe Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris. I don’t think that judging someone by a poor performance is enough to determine that they should not be the candidate.
“I suspect you will see the Joe Biden you saw the next day and every single day since that debate — energised, coherent, well-planned … This president is ready and we stand with him.”
Democratic senators were due to hold their own private meeting later. While none has gone as far as to call publicly for Biden to stand down, Patty Murray, chairwoman of the Senate appropriations committee, said: “We need to see a much more forceful and energetic candidate on the campaign trail in the very near future … [Biden] must seriously consider the best way to preserve his incredible legacy.”
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At Tuesday’s White House press briefing Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden’s press secretary, confirmed that he would commit to serving a full second term of four years, by the end of which he would be 86. “He’s ready,” Jean-Pierre said of the president. “He’s on fire. He’s ready to go. He wants to get out there and continue to show that he has more work to do.”
Before the House meeting James Carville, a veteran strategist who masterminded Bill Clinton’s election as president, set out his plan for a contest to replace Biden, concluding with a vote at the convention next month. “Mark my words: Joe Biden is going to be out of the 2024 presidential race,” he wrote in the New York Times. “Whether he is ready to admit it or not.
“His pleas on Monday to congressional Democrats for support will not unite the party behind him … it’s only a matter of time before Democratic pressure and public and private polling lead him to exit the race. The jig is up.”
He suggested that Clinton and his fellow former president Barack Obama oversee a four-state series of hustings between up to eight candidates, including Harris. “We need to move forward,” he wrote. “But it can’t be by anointing vice-president Kamala Harris or anyone else as the presumptive Democratic nominee. We’ve got to do it out in the open — the exact opposite of what Donald Trump wants us to do.”
Howard Dean, a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, told CNN that Carville was “part of the problem” because “he came to Washington in 1992 and never left”, echoing Biden’s criticism of party “elites” who were leading calls to oust him. However, Dean conceded: “The public perception of the president is one I’m not sure he can recover from. … but I have no doubts Joe Biden can run a great second term.”
After the House meeting Pete Aguilar, chairman of the Democratic congressional caucus, said that members were united around the need to beat Trump. Challenged on whether they were simply united in purpose instead of around Biden, he gave a less than ringing endorsement: “Right now President Biden is the nominee and we support the Democratic nominee that will beat Donald Trump.”
