[ad_1]
President Joe Biden stood firm against calls to withdraw his candidacy in a letter to congressional Democrats and called for an end to the intraparty drama that has divided Democrats since his disappointing performance in a public debate.
Biden’s efforts to unite a deeply anxious Democratic Party came Monday as lawmakers returned to Washington facing a choice: Decide whether to work to revive his campaign or try to sideline the party leader at a crucial moment for his re-election and his own political future.
“The question of how to move forward has been hotly debated over the past week. And it’s time to put an end to it,” Biden wrote in a two-page letter, stressing that the party has “only one job” to do: defeat presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump in November.
“We have 42 days until the Democratic Convention and 119 days until the general election,” Biden said in a letter distributed by his re-election campaign. “Any weakness in the resolve or lack of clarity about the work ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It’s time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.”
The concern is that top Democratic lawmakers have sought to oust Biden despite their opposition to him. At the same time, some of the president’s most ardent supporters are doubling down on the fight for Biden’s presidency, insisting there is no one better equipped to defeat Trump in what many consider one of the most important elections of their lifetime.
The letter followed Biden’s phone interview with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” show in which he emphasized that the “average Democrat” wants him to stay in the race and said he was disappointed by party officials calling on him to step down.
“Those are big names, but I don’t care what those big names think,” Biden said.
He challenged his critics, saying if they were serious they should “declare for president, challenge me at the convention” or rally behind him against Trump. Later, Biden joined a call with members of his national finance committee while first lady Jill Biden campaigned for her husband in a three-state bout that focused on engaging veterans and military families.
“Despite all the talk about this race, Joe has made it clear that he is fully on board,” he told a military crowd in Wilmington, North Carolina. “That is the decision he has made, and just as he has always supported my career, I am fully on board.”
According to a New York Times/Siena College poll, Democratic voters are divided on whether Biden should remain the Democratic Party’s nominee for president, or whether there should be another Democratic nominee.
As lawmakers consider whether Biden should stay or go, there appears to be no easy answer.
It’s a delicate and highly volatile juncture for the president’s party. Democrats who have worked with Biden for years — if not decades — and cherished his life’s work on policy priorities now face uncomfortable questions about his political future. And it’s unfolding as Biden hosts world leaders for a NATO summit in Washington this week.
Timing is not on their side, coming nearly a month before the Democratic National Convention and just a week before Republicans gather in Milwaukee to re-nominate Trump for president. Many Democrats argue the focus should not be on Biden but on the former president’s felony convictions in the hush money case and pending federal charges in his effort to overturn the 2020 election.
This is what Biden himself might call an inflection point. As he has explicitly stated that he will step aside only if the Almighty God comes and tells him to do so, Democrats in the House and Senate are deciding how hard they want to fight the president to change his course, or whether they want to change their course at all.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is calling lawmakers for private meetings before announcing his choice, according to a person familiar with the situation who asked not to be named to discuss it. He plans to gather some of the Democrats least likely to run for re-election on Monday.
A private call Sunday by 15 top members of the House committee exposed the deep divide, as at least four more Democrats — Rep. Jerrold Nadler of New York, Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, Rep. Adam Smith of Washington state and Rep. Mark Takano of California — said privately that Biden should step aside.
Nadler, one of the senior members on the call, was the first to say Biden should step down, according to a person familiar with the call who was granted anonymity to discuss it. He did so because of his seniority and because he felt it would encourage others to join him.
Several others on the call raised concerns about Biden’s ability and likelihood to win reelection, though they stopped short of saying Biden should drop out of the race.
Other members, including Rep. Maxine Waters of California and Rep. Bobby Scott of Virginia, both leaders of the Congressional Black Caucus, spoke out strongly in support of Biden, as did Rep. Richard Neal of Massachusetts, the top Democrat on the powerful Ways and Means Committee.
And many lawmakers appeared frustrated that leadership was not offering direction or a way forward, according to people familiar with the call. One Democratic lawmaker said that regardless of the decision, the situation “must end now,” one of the people said.
Neal later said the bottom line is that Biden beat Trump in 2020 and “he’ll do it again in November.”
The turmoil is also testing a new generation of leaders led by Jeffries and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. The two New Yorkers have refrained from publicly directing lawmakers on how to proceed as they balance the diverse views in their ranks.
Behind the scenes is Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, who continues to answer phone calls from lawmakers seeking advice about the situation, and is widely viewed as the go-to candidate for any final decision on Biden’s future because of her proximity to the president and vote-counting prowess in party politics.
Pelosi said last week that Biden’s debate performance raised “legitimate” questions he must answer, but she remains supportive of the president. And Biden called her last week as he reached out to other party leaders.
When Biden’s prime-time ABC interview on Friday did little to calm worried Democrats, and some said it made the situation worse, Pelosi publicly praised Biden on social media, saying he’s “a great president who continues to work at America’s kitchen tables.” She added, “And our work is far from over!”
Schumer has kept his engagement low-key on the issue, but on Tuesday he will convene Democratic senators for his weekly luncheon, where senators will express a number of ideas.
One Democrat, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, had intended to gather senators to discuss Biden privately on Monday, but a person familiar with his thinking said the conversation would take place at a regular caucus luncheon with all Democratic senators on Tuesday.
Another Democrat, Senator Alex Padilla of California, said it was time to stop wringing our hands and get back to knocking on doors.
Padilla spoke to Biden over the weekend, and urged his campaign to “let Joe be Joe.”
“Looking at the debates, I think the campaign has no choice,” Padilla said Sunday, adding that Biden needs to hold town halls and unscripted events to show voters “the Joe Biden that the majority of people in America know and love.”
While some wealthy donors are showing uneasiness, strategists working on the House and Senate elections said they have seen record fundraising as donors view congressional Democrats as a “firewall” and last line of defense against Trump.
As Democratic candidates campaign alongside Biden, they are being advised to focus on building their own brands and promoting the impact their work in Congress will have on their local districts.
[ad_2]
