Orange County’s House Democrats still support President Joe Biden as he faces mounting pressure over his White House bid.
But they’re stopping just short of unequivocally saying if they believe Biden should remain in the race as questions over whether the president could — or should — continue to run for re-election.
Instead, three congressional Democrats whose districts include Orange County are pointing to former President Donald Trump. The presumptive GOP nominee, too, had a “concerning” debate performance, they said. Trump’s made mistakes and hasn’t been truthful, they contend.
As for Biden’s political future, they’re leaving it up to him.
“While his debate performance was quite concerning, so was former President Trump’s, for very different reasons. I think we all need to take a breath to give President Biden and his closest advisors some time over the holiday to assess the best path forward,” said Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano.
“I think for him to decide whether he is going to step back and not run for president is a decision he and his God and his family are going to have to make,” said Rep. Lou Correa, D-Santa Ana.
Biden was already dodging questions about his age and mental capacity before last week’s debate. But his performance during the televised CNN event left Democrats incredibly concerned. His voice was raspy and shaky; he seemingly lost his train of thought at times.
Biden and his camp have blamed a cold, international travel and debate prep for his performance.
Two House Democrats thus far have called on Biden to exit the race, Reps. Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Raúl Grijalva of Arizona.
Rep. Jim Clyburn, a powerful South Carolina Democrat, has said he fully supports Biden in his re-election bid but floated the possibility of a “mini-primary” ahead of the Democrats’ nominating convention in August should Biden step aside.
And that’s an idea Rep. Katie Porter, D-Irvine is pondering as well.
“If President Biden removes himself from consideration, we should have a democratic process to select a new nominee,” said Porter, who will depart Congress at the end of her term this year. “Democrats have a deep, talented bench, and an open process would help us energize the electorate and build momentum to beat Donald Trump.”
Correa, Levin and Porter still heaped praise on Biden while tip-toeing the question about his re-election future. (A spokesperson for Rep. Linda Sánchez was unavailable to comment for this story.)
“When it comes to doing the job, President Biden is the most accomplished president of the last 50 years, taking action on prescription and drug prices, manufacturing jobs, antitrust, climate and consumer protection,” said Porter.
“I can’t think of a candidate or an elected official who hasn’t had a bad moment. I’ve seen Biden in his job, and I think he’s done a very good job for his country,” Correa said, adding, “But again, I’m sticking with him, period.”
“I have great respect and admiration for President Biden and all that we’ve accomplished together,” said Levin. “My focus will remain on delivering results for our district, which will be the case regardless of who is president.”
A spokesperson for Derek Tran, a Democratic candidate in the 45th congressional district, and state Sen. Dave Min, who is running in the 47th, declined to comment.
Biden has maintained he’ll remain in the race, telling campaign staffers on a call Wednesday: “No one’s pushing me out. I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end, and we’re going to win.”
