Janice R. Andrews
NEW YORK (AP) — The way that President Joe Biden performed in the debate earlier this week is starting to worry some members of the Democratic Party’s highest ranks. There has been a wave of internal criticism directed at Biden’s campaign and Democratic National Committee (DNC) leaders who seem to be underestimating the consequences of his disconcerting performance.
DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison and Biden campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez spoke with a number of nationally significant committee members in a Saturday afternoon call. But the conversation mostly avoided talking about Biden’s lacklustre performance on Thursday night and the criticism that followed.
Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a number of committee members claimed they felt duped and that the call was an attempt to minimise how serious the issue was. This has made donors, political officials, and other stakeholders feel even more anxious. Many were unhappy with Harrison’s optimistic estimate of Biden’s future, the chat feature being turned off, and the questioning policy.
“I was hoping for more of a substantive conversation instead of, hey, let’s go out there and just be cheerleaders,” said Joe Salazar, an elected member of the Democratic National Committee from Colorado. “We need to address a very serious issue that unfolded on American television for millions of people to see,” Salazar said. “We were being gaslit,” he continued.
There’s clearly a lot of dissatisfaction among party strategists, rank-and-file DNC members, and donors who want the 81-year-old Biden to step down so the party can choose a younger candidate at the August Democratic National Convention. The closest supporters of Biden, however, maintain that he is still in a strong position to challenge Republican front-runner Donald Trump and have not expressed any desire for him to withdraw from the race.
Important individuals have reaffirmed their support for Biden after the debate, including Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, California Governor Gavin Newsom, and Vice President Kamala Harris. In the meantime, the party is eager to find out what will happen in the first significant wave of post-debate public polls. Early CNN and 538/Ipsos polls show that most viewers believe Trump is doing better than Biden, even though the two men’s favorability ratings are essentially constant.
Harrison minimised the importance of the conference call during an MSNBC appearance, characterising it as a typical communication amongst DNC members across the country to discuss the race and the forthcoming national convention.
Though doubts have been raised over his physical and mental endurance, Biden and his campaign have exuded confidence since the debate. There are party members who are concerned about the president’s performance because of his frequent blunders, awkward pauses, and low voice. However, a report from senior adviser Jen O’Malley Dillon, which was made public by Biden’s campaign, claimed that the debate had no real effect on the outcome of the race. She wrote, “Data shows it did nothing to change the American people’s perception on every metric that matters.” “Our supporters are more energised than ever, and Donald Trump has failed to broaden his appeal beyond his MAGA base and has only served to remind voters of why they fired him four years ago.”
“If there are any changes in polling in the upcoming weeks, it won’t be the first time that exaggerated media narratives have caused brief drops in the polls,” O’Malley Dillon continued.
During an event in East Hampton, Biden was open about the debate despite spending the most of Saturday wooing affluent fundraisers in the Hamptons. “Trump and I didn’t have a great night,” he remarked. The main lesson was that he was lying.
Throughout the almost hour-long DNC call, Harrison repeated this sentiment. The conversation, as explained by DNC spokesperson Hannah Muldavin, was a routine quarterly conference call with the committee’s membership. Subjects discussed included Biden’s animated post-debate appearance in North Carolina and a fundraising surge that brought in over $27 million for the campaign between debate day and Friday night.
Muldavin pointed out that Harrison did make a brief mention of the debate, citing Biden’s admission in his speech in North Carolina that he performed well in the debate. While acknowledging that his debate skills have diminished, Biden highlighted his tenacity.
Salazar drew attention to the fact that Harrison’s reassurance—a frequent Democratic talking point—that the 2024 presidential race would always be close did little to allay worries. Salazar asserted, referencing Trump’s criminal history and history of lying, that “this should not be a close race.” It is they, not us, who ought to be searching for a new nominee. Unfortunately for us, that is currently up for dispute due of our president’s behaviour on Thursday night.
In the coming weeks, Biden’s standing and the Democratic Party’s trajectory in the 2024 election will be greatly influenced by the internal dissatisfaction and strategic obstacles facing the organisation.
