Joe Biden holds on to key Democrats despite tense talks over candidacy

The Democratic rift over the fate of Joe Biden’s re-election campaign widened on Tuesday after lawmakers held a tense and gloomy day of talks on whether to rally around the US president or push him to drop his bid.

After vowing to stay in the race and calling for unity within the party on Monday, Biden received the backing of some important Democrats, including members of the congressional Black caucus, the congressional Hispanic caucus and other progressive lawmakers.

But he also suffered a new defection from Mikie Sherrill, a moderate New Jersey Democrat who serves on the House armed services committee.

“I know President Biden cares deeply about the future of our country,” she said on Tuesday afternoon. “That’s why I’m asking that he declare that he won’t run for re-election.”

Overall, Biden’s standing as the Democratic nominee remained in limbo as many party members said their position on his viability would depend on his performance on the campaign trail and in public events over the coming days.

“It still remains to be seen,” Dick Durbin, the Illinois senator said at the end of a lunch with fellow lawmakers when asked if Biden should continue to remain at the top of the Democratic ticket.

Earlier in the day, several House Democrats made the case for sticking with Biden, saying the continuing battle to replace him would damage their chances of beating Donald Trump in November.

“I think that once [Biden’s] decision has been fully made, it does start to do more damage than good [to question his candidacy],” said Maxwell Frost, a 27-year-old Florida Democrat, after leaving a meeting of party members in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. “And I do believe his decision has been made.”

Jerry Nadler, the New York Democrat and the party’s top lawmaker on the House judiciary committee, who had privately said over the weekend that he would like Biden to quit the race, said he was now backing the president.

“The president made very clear yesterday that he’s running. For me that’s dispositive; we have to support him,” he said.

But other Democrats were worried that Biden’s determination to plough ahead was dooming the party to defeat against Trump and the Republicans, with polling already showing Biden trailing nationally and in battleground states.

“He just has to step down, because he can’t win, and my colleagues need to recognise that,” said Mike Quigley, a Democratic lawmaker from Illinois.

Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives’ armed services committee, who wants Biden to quit the race, told the Financial Times he now doubted that the president would end his re-election bid.

“In the 10 or 11 days after the debate it was near universal that people wanted a different candidate,” said Smith. “I’m not that confident at this point that the president is going to do the right thing and step aside.”

One Democratic lawmaker who took part in a meeting with colleagues on Tuesday morning said the mood during the two-hour discussion was extremely “sober” as the politicians grappled with the high stakes amid the fear that Trump could win the election.

But he said there was not enough of a groundswell to put overwhelming pressure on Biden to drop out.

“There was more negative sentiment towards the president than positive sentiment,” said the lawmaker. “But the reality is that he won the primary so it has to be his decision. I don’t see any great movement . . . coming from the House Democrats [to try to oust him].”

Anthony Coley, a former senior official in the Biden and Obama administrations, said: “I think the White House and the Biden campaign have successfully stemmed the tide, unless he messes up again at some point this week.”

Underscoring the gravity of the discussion, lawmakers were not allowed to bring their phones into the meeting.

“This needs to get resolved ASAP,” Jim Himes, the top Democrat on the intelligence committee, told the FT.

Many House Democrats remained undecided about their position on the president’s viability. Andy Kim, a New Jersey representative who is running for the US Senate, said he was pondering whether to call for Biden to step aside.

“There’s been concerns even before the debate”, said Kim. “I do feel that and still hear that from people.”

Massachusetts congressman Jim McGovern said he was “going to let this play out and then I will have something more to say”. He added: “He’s been a great president.”

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Harley Rouda, a former US congressman, said many of his colleagues were simply not ready to go on record that Biden should drop out.

“Ideally, Joe would do the right thing,” Rouda told the FT. “What he has done has been phenomenal, but this is not a decision based on what he’s done. It’s a decision based on what is best for our country right now.”

Biden is expected to speak at the Nato summit in Washington later on Tuesday, but his most important public remarks this week could well be when he holds a press conference on Thursday evening. He is then due to travel to Michigan, a pivotal battleground state, for a campaign rally.

The drama surrounding Biden’s future could eclipse the Republican convention to nominate Trump in Milwaukee next week. Speaking on Fox News on Monday night, Trump said he expected Biden to stay in the race.

“It looks to me like he may very well stay in. He’s got an ego, and he doesn’t want to quit. He doesn’t want to do that,” Trump said.