By David Morgan and Jarrett Renshaw
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Top Democrats on Sunday ruled out replacing President Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee after a weak debate performance and called on party members to focus instead on the consequences of a second Donald Trump presidency.
After days of mourning Biden and the outcome of the Nov. 5 election, Democratic leaders firmly rejected calls for their party to choose a younger presidential candidate. Biden, 81, was meeting with members of his family at the Camp David presidential residence, and his political future was a likely topic of discussion.
But calls for Biden to step aside continued, and a post-debate CBS poll showed a 10-point rise in the number of Democrats who believe Biden should not run for president, to 46% from 36% in February.
“The unfortunate truth is that Biden should withdraw from the race, for the good of the nation he has served so admirably for half a century,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution said in an editorial Sunday. “The shadow of retirement is now necessary for President Biden.”
“Absolutely not,” responded Georgia Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, one of several Democrats seen as a potential replacement for Biden.
“Bad debates happen,” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press. “The question is, ‘Who has Donald Trump supported, other than himself and people like him?’ “I stand with Joe Biden and our mission is to make sure he gets to the finish line in November.”
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries, who could become president next year if his party manages to take control of the House in November, acknowledged that Biden suffered a setback in his debate with former President Trump, the candidate republican.
“I think a setback is nothing more than a setup for a comeback,” he told MSNBC. “So the moment we’re in now is a comeback moment, and it’s going to require all of us to lean in and articulate a forward-thinking message about why the Democratic platform is best equipped to meet the challenges facing the American people.”
Another top House Democrat, Rep. James Clyburn, agreed.
“He should stay in the race. He should prove in the future his ability to lead the country,” he told CNN.
During the debate, the hoarse-voiced Biden gave a halting, halting performance in which he stumbled several times while pronouncing his words. Some Democrats later privately said that performance could be a disqualifying factor.
BIDEN FAMILY MEETING
Republicans criticized Democratic claims that Biden’s poor debate performance was a one-off.
“This idea that Biden had a bad night, that’s not the story. He’s had a bad presidency, he had a disastrous debate,” Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina, told CNN.
But in his own debate, Trump unleashed an avalanche of criticism, many of which were well-worn falsehoods he has long repeated, including claims that immigrants have carried out a crime wave, that Democrats support infanticide and that He actually won the 2020 election.
After a frenetic series of seven campaign events in four states since Thursday’s debate, Biden headed to Camp David on Saturday for a pre-planned family gathering that includes a family photo session, according to two people familiar with the schedule. Attendees include his wife, Jill Biden, as well as Biden’s children and grandchildren.
While the trip had been planned for months, the timing and circumstances of Biden being surrounded by family members who have heavily influenced his past decisions to run for president have heightened scrutiny around the visit.
With Democratic leaders backing him, it will be up to Biden to decide whether he wants to end his re-election bid.
Democratic National Committee Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden campaign manager Julie Chávez Rodríguez held a call Saturday afternoon with dozens of committee members across the country, a group made up of some of the most party influencers.
The call was part pep talk and part planning meeting for the upcoming national convention, according to two people who were on the call and requested anonymity to discuss private discussions.