Biden faces mutiny as 25 Democrats prepare to call for ailing president, 81, to step aside after disastrous debate against Trump – as one warns ‘the dam has broken’

At least 25 Democratic members of Congress will call on Joe Biden to withdraw from the presidential race in the coming days.

Biden insiders continue to insist the president, 81, will continue his campaign against Donald Trump, despite his disastrous first debate just five days ago.

However, his support among other Democrats appears to be crumbling: Jared Golden of Maine, Lloyd Doggett of Texas and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Alaska have all called on Biden to withdraw or said they believed he would lose to Trump on Tuesday.

Now it appears “the dam has broken,” as a Democratic Party aide in the House of Representatives has said that as many as 25 Democratic members of the House of Representatives are preparing to call on Biden to resign if he appears to falter in the coming days.

A second House Democratic aide said moderate Democrats in competitive districts — often called “frontliners” — were grilled this week about questions in their districts.

Whether Biden continues his bid for the presidency in 2024 after his lackluster debate performance against Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump is largely his decision, Democrats and political strategists said.

But Biden is under pressure. Some donors have called for him to step aside, and other Democrats have openly worried that he is ill-equipped to defeat Trump in November.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll after the debate found that one in three Democrats think Biden should end his re-election campaign, while another Ipsos poll found that Michelle Obama is the only Democrat currently beating Trump.

U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett on Tuesday became the first Democrat in Congress to call on Biden to withdraw from the presidential race, telling NBC News in an interview that he hoped other Democratic lawmakers would follow his lead.

“It looks like the dam has broken,” said the second assistant.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi highlighted Biden’s numerous legislative accomplishments during an interview with MSNBC on Tuesday, but said it was legitimate to ask whether his debate performance was a one-off or a broader health issue. She said Trump should face the same scrutiny.

“I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?’ And so when people ask that question, that’s legitimate, of both candidates,” Pelosi said.

Immediately after the debate, Pelosi showed her strong support. “Joe Biden’s decision to go forward is a decision that we will all embrace because of his record and the accomplishments that come with it,” she said at the time.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuesday that Biden was not having an “episode” but just a bad night.

Vice President Kamala Harris, asked in a CBS News interview about Doggett’s claim, said, “Look, Joe Biden is our nominee. We beat Trump once, and we’re going to beat him. Period.”

Biden, who spoke without a teleprompter at a campaign rally in Virginia on Tuesday night, blamed his performance on a lack of sleep and said his campaign had raised $38 million since the debate.

“The fact is I wasn’t very smart, you know. I decided to travel around the world a couple of times, travel through 100 time zones … for … the debate. I didn’t listen to my staff and came back and almost fell asleep on the podium,” he said. “That’s not an excuse, but it’s an explanation.”

Some Democrats suggested that Biden should think about the future of the party as a whole.

“He has to be honest with himself,” moderate Democratic Rep. Mike Quigley of Illinois told CNN on Tuesday.

“It’s his decision. I just want him to realize right now how much of an impact it has, not just on his race, but on all the other races coming up in November.”

U.S. Rep. Jim Clyburn, the Democrat often credited with securing Biden’s nomination in the 2020 presidential race, told MSNBC on Tuesday that he would support Vice President Kamala Harris as the Democratic nominee if Biden were to step down.

Golden, a Democrat from Maine, predicted Tuesday that Trump would win the election, as did Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, a Democratic representative from Washington state.

The president and his campaign are scrambling to drum up support. Biden will meet virtually and in person with Democratic governors at the White House on Wednesday and speak to lawmakers this week, White House officials said.

One of the House Democratic Party staffers said members were disappointed with the lack of information provided so far.

Doggett told NBC News that he had asked the White House to speak to Biden personally about his call to withdraw, but that he had not heard back from him.

Biden’s campaign held difficult phone calls on Sunday and Monday with key financiers who questioned his plans to stay in the race.

When asked Tuesday why Biden hadn’t given more media interviews or press conferences after his debate raised questions, Jean-Pierre pointed to his visit to a Waffle House in Atlanta on the night of the debate and subsequent interactions with supporters.

Biden is scheduled to do an interview with ABC this week and plans to hold a press conference at the NATO summit next week. The Democratic Hill aide said a lot was riding on the ABC interview, with lawmakers wanting to see he could handle quick questions and not just orchestrated campaign appearances.

Meanwhile, Biden’s campaign reported that she and her Democratic allies raised $264 million in the second quarter, including $127 million in June and a record amount of grassroots fundraising on the day of Biden’s debate.