Joe Biden will face the most intense presidential news conference in modern history on Thursday after a startling 24 hours that rocked the political underpinning of his reelection campaign.
The stakes for Biden's lone appearance at the NATO summit's conclusion increased exponentially as his political standing began to crumble at a more dishonorable rate. Congress and Hollywood alike cautioned him that he must resign for the good of the party and the nation, and former Speaker Nancy Pelosi made it quite evident that a president who was unable to compromise should reconsider his choices.
A small minority of congressional Democrats have joined the rebellion, but it seems to be more widespread. This is a reflection of the growing fear on Capitol Hill that former President Donald Trump could unleash a GOP landslide that would give conservatives a monopoly on power in Congress, the White House, and the Supreme Court.
Democrats worry that the 81-year-old Biden's resolve to run for office again in spite of the debate's revelations about his declining abilities might jeopardize the democracy that he claims to be fighting to preserve.
The president is determined that he won't hand the reins to a younger Democrat, despite the fact that he was in a bad political position even before the catastrophic debate. However, three things might render his position untenable: a rift in his party's support; a cessation of fundraising; and troubling polling data. There were signs that this crucial trifecta may come to pass as Biden led talks on how to preserve Ukraine and met world leaders at the NATO summit on Wednesday.
At the press conference, which takes place precisely two weeks after Biden's confused and disorganized debate performance drove his campaign into disarray, nothing less than his chances of winning a second term will be at stake. This is the most recent in a string of public appearances that have evolved into agonizing tests of Biden's health and mental faculties, where any mistake or misunderstanding might spell political catastrophe. Any indication that his performance or judgment are clouded by aging would feed the perception of a sick president that was cemented into the public awareness during the CNN debate and might spark a dramatic Democratic uprising.
The president's base of operations is changing.
The day started with Pelosi, who is still a crucial party power broker, denying Biden's assertion that his candidacy and his terrible debate performance were closed cases. During her appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," she stated that Biden should "decide if he is going to run," a statement that was seen by everyone in Washington as an appeal for Biden to reconsider. After warning earlier this week that "I'm not going anywhere," the California Democrat seemed to be giving the president another opportunity to politely alter his mind.
“Legislators sent out similar messages all day. Members of the Democratic Party's Congressional Black Caucus, which has endorsed Biden, such Democratic Representative Ritchie Torres, said to CNN, "If we are going on a political suicide mission, then we should at least be honest about it." Moderate Representative Pat Ryan, a fellow New Yorker, urged Biden to fulfill his promise to serve as a link to the next generation of leaders. "Trump poses an existential threat to American democracy, therefore we must field the most qualified opponent possible. Though a patriot, Joe Biden is no longer the most qualified opponent of Trump."
Additionally, Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to publicly urge Biden to step down on Wednesday night. "He wants to protect us against Donald Trump again." But he must reconsider if he is the most qualified applicant to take on this role. In Welch's opinion, he is not, she stated in a Washington Post opinion piece.
Leading Biden campaign officials will meet with Democratic senators on Thursday to present the president's case; but, a briefing for staff members will not go near the measures that members are requesting to demonstrate Biden's strength in defeating Trump.
It appeared as though Biden had managed to stem the momentum against him as recently as Tuesday night. But after just one day, he was rapidly losing ground, and it's getting harder to see how the party can come together in support of him at the DNC in August if so many congressmen decide to leave Chicago and go into an election where they think their choice for president would guarantee their loss.
Legislators' worries are so important because, after listening to voters and analyzing state polling data, they have concluded that Biden not only cannot win, but that he may give Trump a landslide that he could utilize to carry out his authoritarian agenda, as Colorado senator Michael Bennet stated on CNN on Tuesday.
Leading Democrats in Congress have not yet declared that Biden ought to resign. Furthermore, the president's supporters still exist. "He's going to be our nominee at the convention," Sen. John McCain, a co-chair of Biden's campaign, said. Chris Coons of Delaware said to CNN's Kaitlan Collins on Wednesday. In the autumn, he will run as our candidate. He will take over as the country's next president. Sen. John Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state, told CNN's Erin Burnett that he will be present in large numbers to support Biden at the Senate Democratic conference on Thursday, calling it a "disgrace to discard and push out an amazing president."
However, it is easier to see why Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries assured his members he would forward their concerns to Biden given the mounting dissatisfaction and signs that the president's crumbling popularity might kill the party's prospects in November.
Biden is not the 2010 "big F-ing deal."
George Clooney, an actor and major Democratic donor who only recently joined the president at a fundraiser, was the most painful departure from Biden on a personal level. The director and star of "Good Night, and Good Luck" declared his love and belief in Biden's values, character, and ability to lead the country. However, he stated in an opinion piece for the New York Times that "the Joe Biden I was with at the fund-raiser three weeks ago was not the Joe 'big F-ing deal' Biden of 2010." Clooney continued, saying, "He wasn't even the 2020 Joe Biden. It was the same man whom we had all seen throughout the argument. This president will not help us win in November.
The article by Clooney highlighted how Biden's situation has evolved from a heated political dispute to a heartbreaking personal struggle for the president, who is adored by many Democrats but whose health and limited abilities are now being used as fodder for dehumanizing discussion in the most public setting possible.
Because of his extensive connections with Democratic funders and office holders, Clooney's opinions are more significant than those of any other celebrity. Furthermore, he is not the only unhappy donor. A Democratic consultant told CNN that Biden's candidacy was in jeopardy because "everything is frozen because no one knows what's going to happen." Money was sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see what would emerge of Biden's press conference and interviews on Thursday, the statement went on. The president will do an interview with Lester Holt, anchor of NBC's "Nightly News," which will be taped and broadcast on Monday of next week, the network stated.
Since the debate, Biden's standing in public opinion polls has declined. Additionally, the New York Times reported that Rep. Elissa Slotkin, who is embroiled in a close Senate battle in Michigan, informed donors via video conference on Tuesday that Biden was lagging Trump in her state's private polls. The president's chances of receiving the 270 electoral votes required to win the White House are greatly reduced if he is unable to take Michigan, as he did in 2020.
Not only is Biden's ability to hold onto the nomination being harmed, but the Democratic Party is experiencing an increasingly severe crisis. Additionally, if Biden is confirmed as the nominee, it provides Republicans and Trump with an endless supply of attack advertisements against him. Additionally, candidates can anticipate being attacked for their support of a party leader that many Democrats have deemed unable to serve a second term that would expire at the age of 86. Furthermore, the two weeks of agonizing over Biden's age and mental capacity, along with a clumsy attempt at mitigation by the White House and the campaign, have deflected attention from Trump and denied Democrats the opportunity to link Biden to the lawlessness and volatility of the former president, which many had initially thought would help Biden retain the White House.
Senior Biden campaign advisor and former mayor of Atlanta Keisha Lance Bottoms issued a dire warning to Democrats, saying that they had to put a stop to their rivalry and support the president before it was too late. That her party to be on a "suicide mission" so close to the election is "astonishing," she said to CNN's Erin Burnett.
However, with Biden's political career fast collapsing, the issue of how long he can continue to argue that he is the only Democrat capable of defeating Trump is beginning to arise.
