WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has so far largely stopped trying to erode support among Democrats, but he remains concerned about a tough presidential campaign that will likely force tough questions about his mental health in the coming months.
And some Democrats are still not convinced he can beat former President Donald Trump.
Despite those concerns, Biden and his allies have so far managed to fend off widespread calls from congressional Democrats to withdraw from the race against former President Trump following their disastrous performance in last month’s debate.
Seven House Democrats have publicly said Biden should stop campaigning, but no Democratic senators have gone that far, and Biden maintains the support of all Black and Hispanic senators, the two biggest wings of the Democratic coalition.
But 12 days after the 81-year-old Biden struggled to finish sentences and gather his thoughts during a sharply criticized debate with Trump, scrutiny of his mental and physical health has intensified with no signs of abating. Democrats skeptical of Biden are still hoping he can prove he can turn the tide of the race.
“I think Donald Trump is going to win this election, probably in a landslide victory, and take the Senate and the House of Representatives,” Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colorado, said in an interview on CNN Tuesday night, offering one of the most pessimistic assessments of Biden’s campaign among Democrats.
“I don’t think the White House has done anything since that disastrous debate to indicate that they have a plan to win this election,” Bennet said, but stopped short of explicitly calling on Biden to drop out of the race. “This is something the president should really consider.”
The ongoing speculation about Biden’s mental state has drowned out efforts by his campaign to reset the stakes of the election against Trump, and the past two weeks may have offered a glimpse into the remainder of the 2024 race: Any missteps or signs of fatigue will give his detractors more ammunition.
“We need to see a more powerful and energetic candidate on the campaign trail in the near future to convince voters that the president can get the job done,” Sen. Patty Murray, D-Washington, said in another scathing attack on Monday.
Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.), one of the six House defectors, was more blunt in his assessment Tuesday. “He can’t win,” Quigley said, later telling The Associated Press, “The same fighting spirit and pride and courage that served our country four years ago and helped Joe Biden win will defeat him this time.”
Still, the White House and Biden’s team have been generally pleased with the past 36 hours since Congress reconvened in Washington after a holiday recess, and despite skeptics, Biden maintains significant support for his reelection campaign among Democrats.
That includes public support from House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and two of the most influential members of the House Democratic caucus, Nancy Pelosi and Jim Clyburn.
Some Democrats who recently criticized Biden also appear to have backtracked.
“It doesn’t matter whether I have concerns,” said Rep. Jerry Nadler of New York, who on Tuesday backed off his previous position that Biden should withdraw from the Democratic presidential nomination. “He’s going to be our nominee and we should all support him,” Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, told reporters.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York), who has a large young progressive following, has been a staunch supporter of Biden.
“This matter is resolved,” Ocasio-Cortez told reporters Monday. “He reiterated that this morning. He reiterated that to the nation. Joe Biden is our nominee. He is not withdrawing from this race. He remains in the race and I support him.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, at a press conference on Tuesday, highlighted comments made by Ocasio-Cortez and other Democrats in support of Biden, but stopped short of saying Biden has completely weathered the political storm.
“He’s ready to go out, he wants to go out and continue to show that there’s still a lot of work to be done,” Jean-Pierre said of Biden, who is due to return to campaigning in Michigan on Friday after hosting a NATO summit in Washington this week.
With five decades of his political career hanging in the balance, Biden went on the offensive Monday and Tuesday trying to prove he should remain the Democratic nominee.
Biden sent a letter to Democratic lawmakers on Monday saying, “The question of how to proceed has been under discussion for over a week now, and it is time to end it. Later, in a surprise phone appearance on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, Biden blasted the “elites” who want him out and argued that Democratic voters have already made their support for him clear in the Democratic primary.
But the proliferation of media reports about Biden’s mental health over the past two weeks suggests it’s not easy for him and his team to simply move on.
Biden has been the subject of reports in The New York Times and The Washington Post, and there has been concern within the administration about his declining mental health and signs of aging. White House officials were asked Monday about multiple visits by neurologists to the White House, but Biden’s physician later clarified that the visits were not for Biden.
Then last Friday, in an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, Biden was asked about whether he was fit to serve another term, whether he would take a cognitive test (he wouldn’t), and whether he thought he was infirm.
A meeting of Democratic lawmakers on Tuesday morning, billed as a “family” conversation, signaled divisions within the party over Biden’s ability to lead the party to victory in November’s presidential election. Asked whether Democrats were on the same page, Rep. Steven Cohen (D-Tenn.) told reporters, “We’re not even on the same page.”
“I’ve heard from people in my district that they are worried about their country and their future,” said Rep. Mickey Sherrill of New Jersey, who on Tuesday became the seventh House Democrat to call for Biden’s withdrawal. “They want a leader who can continue to build on our country’s successes while also focusing the nation’s attention on the immediate threat posed by Trump.”
And despite his support for Biden, Schumer was quick to respond when asked if he was confident Biden had the ability to win the election and serve another four years.
“As I’ve said before, I’m on Joe’s side,” Schumer said.
Sen. Chris Coons (Delaware), a longtime Biden ally who has defended the president since the debate, noted that Biden has a “lifelong history of mild stutters and slipping in speech.”
“You have to look at what he’s saying and doing now and reflect on who he was throughout his life and who he is — a warm, relatable, genuine, motivating person,” Coons said.
Amid Democratic turmoil, Biden’s campaign is trying to reframe its campaign against Trump, taking aim in particular at Project 2025, a set of policy goals drawn up by the right-wing Heritage Foundation for Trump to implement if elected as president for a second time.
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), referring to Biden’s shaky performance in the debate, said he was telling voters that Biden had a “tough night.”
“Electing Donald Trump will set us up for four terrible, terrible nights,” Wyden said.
But Biden and Democrats have struggled to push that message in the aftermath of Biden’s dismal performance in the debates.
Biden, who was already trailing Trump in most polls before the debate, is heading into the final months of the campaign as a candidate who has been damaged. A post-debate USA Today/Suffolk University poll showed Trump leading Biden 41% to 38%, with his lead over Biden having widened by 3 points since the debate. Other polls have seen a similar upswing for Trump.
According to an AARP poll, Trump is beating Biden in the key battleground state of Wisconsin, 44% to 38%, while Wisconsin Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin is beating her Republican opponent, Eric Hovde, 50% to 45% in the state.
It remains to be seen whether Biden can turn those numbers around, but it is increasingly looking like the party won’t be turning to anyone else.
“Right now, President Biden is the nominee and we support the Democratic nominee,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.
Contributors: Ken Tran, Riley Beggin, Sarah Wire, Rebecca Morin. Joey Garrison can be reached at X or on Twitter: @joeygarrison.
