The fallout from last week’s “shaky” (at best) performance from President Joe Biden continues to snowball.
Amidst questions about his cognitive ability and ability to perform his duties as President, a new report has surfaced that dozens of House Democrats are poised to officially ask him to withdraw from the presidential race.
According to a report from the Washington Examiner, 25 House Dems are reportedly preparing to ask Biden to drop out of the 2024 presidential election if he does not convince them otherwise in the coming days.
An Democratic aide familiar with the report said the group is preparing to ask Biden to exit the race “if he seems shaky in the coming days.”
A second House Democratic aide said moderate House Democrats in competitive districts – often called “frontliners” – were getting hammered with questions in their districts this week.
This latest report of internal dissension comes on the heels of Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-T.X. being the first congressional Democrat to call for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race on Tuesday. He told NBC News in an interview that he hoped other Democratic lawmakers would follow his lead.
Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-WA ripped Biden’s performance speaking on Tuesday and cast doubt on his future.
“About 50 million Americans tuned in and watched that debate. I was one of them for about five very painful minutes,” she said. “We all saw what we saw. You can’t undo that, and the truth, I think, is that Biden is going to lose to Trump. I know that’s difficult, but I think the damage has been done by that debate.”
Even former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who emphasized Biden’s multiple legislative accomplishments during an interview with MSNBC, did admit that it was legitimate to ask whether his debate performance was a one-night thing or a broader health problem. Pelosi also noted that Donald Trump should be under the same scrutiny as Biden.
“I think it’s a legitimate question to say, ‘Is this an episode or is this a condition?’ And so when people ask that question, it’s legitimate, of both candidates.” Pelosi said.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll taken after the debate showed one in three Democrats think Biden should end his re-election bid.
But despite the negative fallout and questions about his ability to lead, Biden has shown no signs of intending to step down and is set to step up his damage control, beginning with a call on today with a group of Democratic governors seeking assurances about his presidency.
Biden’s campaign has held difficult phone calls on Sunday and Monday with important funders who questioned his plans to stay in the race.
When asked Tuesday why Biden had not done more media interviews or press conferences after his debate raised questions, White House Press Secretary Jean-Pierre pointed to his visit to a Waffle House in Atlanta on the evening of the debate and subsequent interactions with supporters.
Biden is scheduled to do an interview with ABC this week and plans to hold a news conference at the NATO summit next week.