Defections Increase Within Biden's Inner Circle, Shifting 'Moment to Moment'
Campaign asserts, “the president is in this race."
TroibNews 
REHOBOTH BEACH, Delaware — Joe Biden’s campaign chair affirmed on Friday that the president is determined to stay in the race despite increasing Democratic defections.
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Jen O’Malley Dillon admitted there had been “some slippage of support” for Biden since the debate, with heightened concerns about his age and mental acuity among Democratic officials and voters.
However, O’Malley Dillon emphasized that Biden has demonstrated his capability to run an aggressive campaign, urging Democrats to reunify behind him and focus on defeating former President Donald Trump.
“The president is in this race, you’ve heard him say that time and time again,” O’Malley Dillon stated. “We believe, on this campaign, we are built for the close election that we’re in. And we see the path forward.”
Despite this assertion, by the afternoon, nine additional House Democrats and one Senate Democrat had called for Biden to withdraw, including prominent figures in the party’s left wing.
The resolute message came as Biden’s intentions and those of his closest advisers seemed to fluctuate, according to two anonymous sources not authorized to discuss private conversations publicly.
Biden is under growing pressure within the Democratic Party to step aside, spurred by concerns he is trailing Trump in the polls and could jeopardize efforts to win the House and Senate.
Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) collectively urged Biden on Friday to “pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders.” An op-ed by Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) in the Chicago Tribune echoed this sentiment, highlighting Democratic voters’ “tremendous fear” of Trump reclaiming the White House.
“It breaks my heart to say it, but Biden is no longer up for that job,” Casten wrote.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released a statement soon after that reiterated the need to "pass the torch," adding “I believe it is in the best interests of our country for him to step aside." Later that day, Reps. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) also called for Biden to end his campaign.
More Democratic lawmakers are expected to voice their concerns in the coming days, according to a senior Hill Democrat who spoke anonymously. Additional defections from long-standing Democratic senators with close ties to Biden would have a significant impact, the Democrat noted.
The delicate objective, the Democrat explained, is to exert enough public pressure to make Biden decide to step down while allowing him to retain some dignity so it appears he made the decision independently.
"He has to say, 'I know I'm not going to win,'" another Democrat involved in the discussions remarked. Despite the mounting pressure, "it doesn't matter if at the end of the day you don't have the guy himself coming up to the podium."
Biden, recovering from Covid, has been in isolation and communicating with allies and aides only by phone, according to the two sources. He has oscillated between asserting his capability to beat Trump again and questioning whether Vice President Kamala Harris could defeat the Republican nominee.
The White House declared a lid on Friday morning, indicating for the second consecutive day that the president would not appear in public. Biden's Covid symptoms had “improved meaningfully,” although he continued to take Paxlovid, as stated in a letter from his physician released Friday afternoon.
Biden’s inner circle has grown frustrated with the seemingly coordinated effort by Democratic leaders to push him out of the race. Simultaneously, some close to the president have privately considered for the first time that the best course might be for Biden to step aside, according to three Democrats familiar with the campaign dynamics.
"They really feel like they're being betrayed," a senior Democratic lawmaker who has spoken with the Biden team said, granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.
Still, there's "a lot of discussion" within Biden's circle about the path forward, and recognition that a decision on whether he stays in or exits must be made by the end of the week.
Publicly, Biden’s aides insist they are not considering a change in plans.
In a statement responding to Trump's speech at the Republican convention, Biden claimed he plans to return to the campaign trail next week.
"Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the ballot box," Biden said. "The stakes are high, and the choice is clear."
O’Malley Dillon stated on MSNBC that the campaign still sees "multiple pathways to victory," emphasizing the need to unite and advance.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to take all of us unifying and moving forward," she said.
Pressed for evidence that Biden could recover from recent setbacks, O’Malley Dillon cited conversations with battleground state voters, claiming that more than three-quarters of the approximately 100,000 voters they contacted support Biden.
She downplayed polling indicating Biden is falling further behind Trump nationally and in swing states, arguing that most voters had already decided who to support and that the debate had little effect.
“The impression of the president is very hardened,” O’Malley Dillon said. “People know and are baked, and that’s why the movement has been pretty little since the debate, because they know who Joe Biden is.”
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates also refuted claims that Biden and his inner circle are considering bowing out, stating that anyone suggesting otherwise has "no idea what they are talking about."
Biden received an endorsement overnight from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who reiterated her support for him and argued there’s insufficient time to consider an alternative candidate.
“I have not seen a scenario, an alternative scenario, that I feel does not set us up for enormous peril,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Instagram Live, expressing doubt that the party could smoothly substitute Harris as the nominee.
“If you think that there is consensus among people who want Joe Biden to leave … you would be mistaken,” she said, noting that many Democrats “are interested in removing the whole ticket.”
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a close Biden ally, also confirmed his support for the president, telling POLITICO that he would only change his mind if Biden decided to exit first. However, he refrained from criticizing Democrats urging Biden to step down, stressing the importance of uniting behind a nominee before the Democratic convention in August.
“Everybody’s got a right to do their own thing with this,” he said. “We can have all the debate we want to have this week or next week or the week after that, but this issue must be behind us before we get to Chicago.”
Max Fischer contributed to this report for TROIB News
During an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Jen O’Malley Dillon admitted there had been “some slippage of support” for Biden since the debate, with heightened concerns about his age and mental acuity among Democratic officials and voters.
However, O’Malley Dillon emphasized that Biden has demonstrated his capability to run an aggressive campaign, urging Democrats to reunify behind him and focus on defeating former President Donald Trump.
“The president is in this race, you’ve heard him say that time and time again,” O’Malley Dillon stated. “We believe, on this campaign, we are built for the close election that we’re in. And we see the path forward.”
Despite this assertion, by the afternoon, nine additional House Democrats and one Senate Democrat had called for Biden to withdraw, including prominent figures in the party’s left wing.
The resolute message came as Biden’s intentions and those of his closest advisers seemed to fluctuate, according to two anonymous sources not authorized to discuss private conversations publicly.
Biden is under growing pressure within the Democratic Party to step aside, spurred by concerns he is trailing Trump in the polls and could jeopardize efforts to win the House and Senate.
Reps. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), Chuy Garcia (D-Ill.), Marc Veasey (D-Texas), and Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) collectively urged Biden on Friday to “pass the torch to a new generation of Democratic leaders.” An op-ed by Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.) in the Chicago Tribune echoed this sentiment, highlighting Democratic voters’ “tremendous fear” of Trump reclaiming the White House.
“It breaks my heart to say it, but Biden is no longer up for that job,” Casten wrote.
Sen. Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) released a statement soon after that reiterated the need to "pass the torch," adding “I believe it is in the best interests of our country for him to step aside." Later that day, Reps. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio), Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), Betty McCollum (D-Minn.), and Kathy Castor (D-Fla.) also called for Biden to end his campaign.
More Democratic lawmakers are expected to voice their concerns in the coming days, according to a senior Hill Democrat who spoke anonymously. Additional defections from long-standing Democratic senators with close ties to Biden would have a significant impact, the Democrat noted.
The delicate objective, the Democrat explained, is to exert enough public pressure to make Biden decide to step down while allowing him to retain some dignity so it appears he made the decision independently.
"He has to say, 'I know I'm not going to win,'" another Democrat involved in the discussions remarked. Despite the mounting pressure, "it doesn't matter if at the end of the day you don't have the guy himself coming up to the podium."
Biden, recovering from Covid, has been in isolation and communicating with allies and aides only by phone, according to the two sources. He has oscillated between asserting his capability to beat Trump again and questioning whether Vice President Kamala Harris could defeat the Republican nominee.
The White House declared a lid on Friday morning, indicating for the second consecutive day that the president would not appear in public. Biden's Covid symptoms had “improved meaningfully,” although he continued to take Paxlovid, as stated in a letter from his physician released Friday afternoon.
Biden’s inner circle has grown frustrated with the seemingly coordinated effort by Democratic leaders to push him out of the race. Simultaneously, some close to the president have privately considered for the first time that the best course might be for Biden to step aside, according to three Democrats familiar with the campaign dynamics.
"They really feel like they're being betrayed," a senior Democratic lawmaker who has spoken with the Biden team said, granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations.
Still, there's "a lot of discussion" within Biden's circle about the path forward, and recognition that a decision on whether he stays in or exits must be made by the end of the week.
Publicly, Biden’s aides insist they are not considering a change in plans.
In a statement responding to Trump's speech at the Republican convention, Biden claimed he plans to return to the campaign trail next week.
"Together, as a party and as a country, we can and will defeat him at the ballot box," Biden said. "The stakes are high, and the choice is clear."
O’Malley Dillon stated on MSNBC that the campaign still sees "multiple pathways to victory," emphasizing the need to unite and advance.
“At the end of the day, it’s going to take all of us unifying and moving forward," she said.
Pressed for evidence that Biden could recover from recent setbacks, O’Malley Dillon cited conversations with battleground state voters, claiming that more than three-quarters of the approximately 100,000 voters they contacted support Biden.
She downplayed polling indicating Biden is falling further behind Trump nationally and in swing states, arguing that most voters had already decided who to support and that the debate had little effect.
“The impression of the president is very hardened,” O’Malley Dillon said. “People know and are baked, and that’s why the movement has been pretty little since the debate, because they know who Joe Biden is.”
White House spokesperson Andrew Bates also refuted claims that Biden and his inner circle are considering bowing out, stating that anyone suggesting otherwise has "no idea what they are talking about."
Biden received an endorsement overnight from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), who reiterated her support for him and argued there’s insufficient time to consider an alternative candidate.
“I have not seen a scenario, an alternative scenario, that I feel does not set us up for enormous peril,” Ocasio-Cortez said on Instagram Live, expressing doubt that the party could smoothly substitute Harris as the nominee.
“If you think that there is consensus among people who want Joe Biden to leave … you would be mistaken,” she said, noting that many Democrats “are interested in removing the whole ticket.”
Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-S.C.), a close Biden ally, also confirmed his support for the president, telling POLITICO that he would only change his mind if Biden decided to exit first. However, he refrained from criticizing Democrats urging Biden to step down, stressing the importance of uniting behind a nominee before the Democratic convention in August.
“Everybody’s got a right to do their own thing with this,” he said. “We can have all the debate we want to have this week or next week or the week after that, but this issue must be behind us before we get to Chicago.”
Max Fischer contributed to this report for TROIB News
