Calls for President Joe Biden to resign have grown so close to his inner circle that some in the White House know he “cannot” run for office in 2024 and want to give him the “grace” to step down, leading Democrats say.
Key figures in the 81-year-old’s presidential party want a new candidate on the ballot to avoid an election bloodbath against Donald Trump in November 2024.
More than 30 Democrats have called on him to step aside, making astonishing claims about his cognitive decline.
Insiders say the West Wing is under enormous pressure to find a solution and there is now division over whether Biden will quit.
“Most of them know. Some of them will say, Oh, calm down. But most of them will say, Oh, he can’t do it, just give him grace,” said Johanna Maska, former White House press secretary under Barack Obama.
“It’s very divisive. It must be difficult for everyone right now,” she told DailyMail.com.
On a day when 11 House Democrats called for Biden to step down, she pointed to a longtime aide who urged them to “just give him the space to make his own decision instead of everyone just coming out like this.”
A rift within the party over President Biden’s future was evident Friday as a series of lawmakers called for him to step down. Sources also point to divisions within the White House itself over the best path forward.
“I believe they do. And I believe Biden doesn’t want to watch the debate because he knows how bad it was,” the Press Advance podcast host said.
“My phone is ringing constantly from sitting Democrats in the House of Representatives all over the country. Those in the swing districts feel like they’re between the proverbial hammer and the anvil,” former New York Rep. Steve Israel, who previously chaired the House Democratic campaign arm, told DailyMail.com.
“The Republicans are on their way to where they want to be and we’re sitting in the backseat bickering about whether to take the next exit,” said Israel, who now works at Cornell University’s Institute of Politics.
“It’s a doomsday scenario. Every week builds a more negative narrative than the week before,” he said. As for Biden, “I feel like the narrative is catching up to him at this point.”
The latest hints of internal turmoil come amid reports that Biden’s family members have discussed what a departure would look like. Party members are divided over whether a Biden withdrawal would amount to handing the reins to Kamala Harris with an endorsement or setting up an entirely new process.
That followed reports that even members of Biden’s Cabinet were having “private conversations” about whether staff should intervene, and one House member said the message was getting through to Biden.
There are risks that the mounting public pressure — which has been accompanied by a flood of op-eds and statements from lawmakers praising Biden but calling on him to resign — could escalate dramatically and strain some of the millions of voters who cast their ballots for Biden and whom Biden must remobilize in swing states where he is trailing Donald Trump.
“It could also discourage a lot of people,” Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright told DailyMail.com.
‘This could well backfire, because it does not help us in the public interest, while the public interest is that we win the elections, regardless of the outcome.’
Passing the torch? Vice President Kamala Harris and her two nieces went out for ice cream on Friday — a favorite activity of President Biden, who is isolating due to COVID
Some Democrats have questioned how Donald Trump, 78, was able to extend his lead in the polls over Biden, 81, even as he faces multiple criminal charges.
Asked about Biden’s situation, Seawright expressed appreciation for the 81-year-old president’s energy as he grapples with a COVID-19 diagnosis after slowly walking down the smaller staircase of Air Force One after departing for his Delaware beach house.
“I’ve spent time with the president and with voters. The Joe Biden I’ve seen is the Joe Biden I saw campaigning in South Carolina a few months ago for the primary,” he said. “It’s crystal clear that while legislators may have one view, voters who ultimately determine the fate of legislators have a completely different view.”
Officials have talked about Vice President Kamala Harris’ total loyalty to Biden as he struggles. But there was a demonstration of how Biden might one day pass the torch to her when she stopped at an ice cream shop — to indulge in his favorite treat — on Friday.
“This weekend is Nixon country,” a veteran Senate adviser joked at the Republican Party convention.
It was another tough day for the Biden camp on Friday as Democrats publicly turned on him, just hours after Donald Trump delivered a 92-minute speech accepting the Republican nomination.
There are calls within the White House to “just give him the grace” to make a decision, said former Obama official Johanna Maska
In a brutal assessment, Congressman Seth Moulton (D-Mass.) said Biden did not appear to recognize him when they met in Normandy in June for the D-Day commemoration.
“For the first time, he didn’t seem to recognize me,” Moulton wrote in an op-ed. “That can happen as one gets older, of course, but as I watched the disastrous debate a few weeks ago, I have to admit that what I saw in Normandy was part of a deeper problem,” he continued. “It was a crushing realization, and not because someone I love had a bad night, but because everything hinges on Biden’s ability to beat Donald Trump in November.”
“I know he wants to beat Donald Trump, the problem is all the data points the other way,” Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), a loyal Nancy Pelosi supporter and member of the House Jan. 6 Committee, told MSNBC.
Before the day was out, another imperiled sitting senator, Sen. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, added his name to the list of elected officials calling on Biden to resign after he avoided publicly taking sides. “I agree with the many Ohioans who have reached out to me. At this critical moment, we need to refocus our full attention on these important issues. I believe the President should end his campaign.”
Biden’s campaign acknowledged the disagreement in a statement.
“While the majority of the caucus and the party’s diverse base continue to support the president and his historic record of achieving goals for their communities, we recognize that the urgency and stakes of defeating Donald Trump mean others may feel differently,” said campaign spokeswoman Mia Ehrengerg.
“We all share the same goal: an America where everyone has a fair chance and freedom and democracy are protected. Unlike Republicans, we are a party that accepts and even celebrates different opinions, but ultimately we will absolutely come together to defeat Donald Trump in November.”
Biden’s campaign manager Jen O’Malley Dillon said: “You’ve heard it straight from the president before: He’s in this race to win, he’s our nominee, and he’s running for a second term.”