Washington — Several days after President Biden’s statement unstable debate performanceThe president, his campaign and the Democratic Party have failed to allay the concerns of a number of Democratic lawmakers and donors.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first Democratic lawmaker to call on President Biden to step down from the presidential race following his debate performance last week, saying on Tuesday that he was “hopeful that he will make the painful and difficult decision to step down.”
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“While much of his work has been transformative, he is committed to being transitional,” the Texas Democrat said in a statement. “He has the opportunity to foster a new generation of leaders from whom a candidate can be chosen to unite our country through an open and democratic process.”
A group of House Democrats is also calling on Mr. Biden to transition out of the racea Democratic lawmaker told CBS News. The member said the group, which has been described as large and covers a broad swath of the Democratic caucus, is concerned about the president’s ability to win reelection, and lawmakers are hopeful the president will make the right decision and help find a new candidate.
A Democratic member of the House of Representatives told CBS News that front-line House Democrats — vulnerable Democrats facing tough reelection races — are circulating a letter among House Democrats asking the president to step down as the presumptive nominee. The Democratic member, who is not a front-line member and supports Biden, said that “if we get a lot of people signing up, I think the dam could break.”
The lawmaker said there was real concern among some Democratic lawmakers, like Doggett. The congressional source also noted that momentum could pick up after Democratic Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez told a local station in her home state of Washington on Tuesday that she believed the president’s debate performance would cost him the election. Gluesenkamp Perez is a first-term congresswoman who won in a red, rural district.
“About 50 million Americans watched that debate. I was one of them for about five very painful minutes. We all saw what we saw, you can’t go back, and the truth, I think, is that Biden is going to lose to Trump. I know it’s hard, but I think the damage has been done by that debate,” Gluesenkamp Pérez said.
The Biden-Harris campaign is aware of the front-line letter and is trying to stop its momentum, according to a Biden campaign source.
Donors worried
Whitney Tilson, a Democratic donor and Biden supporter who describes herself as a six-figure donor to Democrats, including Mr. Biden, is one of the few to publicly advocate for the president’s removal.
“I am not aware [Biden campaign] “There are plans, but we can see that the dam is giving way.”
Tilson said he is witnessing a quiet but fervent groundswell among Biden donors.
“These are people who love Biden, like me, and we all think he’s been a great president,” Tilson said. “But we’re rational and say let’s stop Trump. Every single one of us has come to the conclusion that sticking with Biden is not the answer.”
Tilson said there were “constant phone conversations, emails and text messages,” and he outlined several scenarios that have been floated among donors. For example, he said Biden could give the job to Vice President Kamala Harris before the end of her term, believing that as an incumbent, “you give her all the advantages of being an incumbent and demonstrate that she can do the job.”
Another alternative would be to “open everything up and say it’s at the discretion of the state.” Democratic Convention“, he said. In that scenario, Mr. Biden “allows all of his delegates to vote their conscience,” even if he still wants to support Harris and give her his endorsement.
Two other Biden donors, who are listed on several high-profile donor email chains circulating now, say there are widespread discussions about how to build a slate of alternative candidates and what circumstances might lead to the president’s departure from the top of the ticket.
A group of Biden supporters has discussed launching an effort to have former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton draw up a short list of candidates, have the party hold a series of debates and then vote on a new ticket at the convention.
One argument for continuing to run for Mr. Biden, donors say, is that other than Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who ran against Mr. Biden in 2020, very few other candidates have been seriously considered for a national campaign.
Biden’s campaign admits the president had a bad night but refuses to suggest he might drop out of the race. And a campaign spokesperson reiterated to CBS News after Doggett’s statement that the president would “absolutely not” drop out.
The comments from Doggett, who has represented an Austin-area district in Congress for nearly three decades, come amid growing concerns among elected Democrats about the president’s ability to win the November election, with a handful of party members leaving the door open to a possible replacement.
Other lawmakers weigh in
Although most elected Democrats have publicly continued to support After making a statement during the debate, the president highlighted the president’s record while insisting that the president had simply had a bad night. Subtle cracks have emerged in recent days among a handful of elected officials, suggesting that Mr. Biden may be unfit to run for another term.
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, acknowledged concerns about the president’s debate performance in an interview Monday with CBS affiliate WPRI, saying he was “horrified” by the debate, while noting it could be the boost the Biden campaign needs to “make a more compelling case against Donald Trump.”
“I think people want to make sure that this is a campaign that is ready to go and win, that the president and his team are upfront with us about his condition – that it was a real anomaly and not just the way he is these days,” Whitehouse said.
Representative Mike Quigley, an Illinois Democrat, said on CNN Tuesday morning that there was a “decision” the president would have to make, signaling an openness to a new name at the top of the ticket while stopping short of calling on Mr. Biden to drop out of the race.
“His decision will not only impact who sits in the White House for the next four years, but it will impact who sits in the Senate, who sits in the House, and it will have implications for decades to come,” Quigley said, adding that “it has to be” the president’s decision.
Quigley said that “we have to be honest with ourselves, it was not just a horrible night,” but declined to elaborate, citing respect for the president who he said “served us extraordinarily well for 50 years.”
Rep. Angie Craig, a Minnesota Democrat, told reporters Tuesday that “the president himself needs to step aside if something else happens,” adding that she has been in contact with his campaign and explained what she should expect from the president.
“I need to see him everywhere, speaking without intervention, without a teleprompter, and he needs to make sure that the American people have confidence in his ability to run for reelection,” she said. “And so that’s where I am.”
Craig said she is discussing the issue with a number of her congressional colleagues, but said “we have to let the president think about whether he wants to move forward.”
Sen. Peter Welch, a Vermont Democrat, expressed frustration with the Biden campaign, telling Semafor on Monday that he criticized the campaign for “a dismissive attitude toward people who raise issues for debate.”
Welch said it was a discussion the party needed to have, while saying the campaign’s disdain for concerts was “inappropriate”.
Meanwhile, Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear said Monday he would continue to support the president “as long as he’s in the race.”
Mr Biden is expected to hold a meeting with democratic governors Wednesday, CBS News learned, after efforts to reassure lawmakers after the debate were largely made by the president’s aides and advisers.
Margaret Brennan, Nikole Killion, Scott MacFarlane, Nancy Cordes, Aaron Navarro and Patrick McGuire contributed reporting.
