Should (Will?) President Joe Biden Drop Out of the 2024 Presidential Race? Poll & Editorials

[raison de arizona]

#ridingwithbiden2024

[raison de arizona]

I'm telling you it's too late, where were all you naysayers while Biden was racking up 85%+ in all the primaries? We're riding with Biden, and that's how it is.

[Luke]

Pigpen Bannon says over and over the plan is to make this process as "painful" as possible for Democrats. Republicans and especially MAGA are doing just that, its in their interest.

FWIW, Memoli has been wired into Bidenworld for decades. NBC News:

Biden's family urges him to 'keep fighting' as donors look for alternatives
A top campaign official held a tense call with donors Sunday, laying out what would happen to the campaign infrastructure should Biden step aside — stressing he had no plans to do so.
June 30, 2024, 11:16 PM EDT
By Mike Memoli and Monica Alba

WASHINGTON — As top Democrats offered a public show of support for President Joe Biden throughout the weekend, his advisers worked privately Sunday to push back against suggestions that he step aside, with his campaign manager describing the mechanics of replacing him on the ticket as messy and impractical. During a tense call with a group of about 40 of Biden’s top financial backers, campaign manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez laid out what could and could not be done with the campaign’s infrastructure if Biden were to step aside while emphasizing throughout the call that he had no intention of doing so.

Most of the campaign’s significant war chest would fall to Vice President Kamala Harris, Chavez Rodriguez said, according to two people familiar with the discussion. Only a smaller pool of money would be kept by the Democratic National Committee. As several donors posited what a participant derisively referred to as fanciful “West Wing”-type scenarios for replacing Biden, Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., who joined for part of the call, emphasized that the process would be “messy” and predicted that Harris would ultimately end up as the nominee.

Sunday’s call was just one of a series of similar conversations top Biden advisers and campaign leaders have been holding with Democratic officials and donors after Biden’s halting debate performance rattled the party elite. The conversation was among the more candid the campaign has held with a larger group in recent days, wading into the delicate question of exactly who might succeed Biden if he were to step aside. Jen O'Malley Dillon, the chair of the Biden campaign, is also set to hold a call with a larger group of donors Monday night, according to two sources familiar with the plans.

Meanwhile, Biden’s family — the people who have most influence on him — met and discussed the future of his campaign during a long-planned gathering at Camp David, Maryland, NBC News first reported. The message from Biden’s children and grandchildren, together for a photo shoot Sunday with famed photographer Annie Leibovitz, was to “keep fighting,” said two sources familiar with the discussions.

In recent days, some of Biden’s family members have expressed deep frustration with the aides and advisers responsible for preparing him for the debate, which carried over into conversations over the weekend, multiple sources said. A senior Biden adviser called such suggestions false, while a campaign spokesperson said Biden still has confidence in his most senior staffers. “The aides who prepped the President have been with him for years, often decades, seeing him through victories and challenges. He maintains strong confidence in them,” Biden campaign spokesman Kevin Munoz said in a statement.

The campaign’s public posture Sunday was to draw attention to the positive, or at least neutral, response that voters and grassroots supporters have had to Biden’s first debate against former President Donald Trump. “Every time Donald Trump opened his mouth, those dials dropped. They just absolutely plummeted,” Biden campaign pollster Molly Murphy said on MSNBC, referring to live panels the campaign conducted Thursday. “[Voters] felt like the president came across as someone who cares about middle- and working-class Americans, and when compared to Trump he came across as more presidential, more likable, more truthful.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., said in another MSNBC interview: “It certainly was a setback. But of course I believe a setback is nothing more than a setup for a comeback.”

During the call with donors, Chavez Rodriguez noted that the campaign has raised $33 million since the debate and even received hundreds of new applications from people wanting to join the campaign.
Coons also made a “fiery” case for Biden, pointing to his performance during recent international gatherings and his campaign rally in North Carolina on Friday to say there’s no evidence that Thursday’s debate was anything other than a bad night. One participant said that many on the call were still firmly behind Biden but that “a lot of the participants are frightened.” “There were some tough comments from those on the call. Some were upset that they are just hearing campaign talking points,” the participant said, adding that some donors even asked about having their contributions refunded.

Another senior Democratic official who has spoken directly with Biden and members of his campaign team said he has been reassured about Biden’s staying in the race and characterized his team’s posture as “powering through.” But he also said he has had a lot of “one-off texts and conversations” with his peers and predicted the next two weeks would be critical.

“We’ll have polls and we’ll have a money count. If they’re good, it leans that he [remains in the race]. And if it’s not, all bets are off,” the official said. It will be “decided on data more than emotion. It’s too early to make the call.”

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/joe-bi ... rcna159694

[bob]

I mean, Ohio already ratfucked its election deadlines, so Biden will be the official nominee before the convention even starts.

There's little upside to changing (as any new candidate will become a target), and Republicans will have a field day with the chaos it would create.

And if Biden were to step aside, the best way for him to do that would to resign, and let Harris become the president now. I don't foresee that occuring.

[Suranis]

Besides, one Candidate was elected with a consistent 80% of his parties vote with no-one running against him, and the other one with 95% of his parties vote. And here's a clue, the second one is the one that the Media is trying to pretend does not have his party behind him.

[sterngard friegen]

I'd like Donald Trump not to be elected POTUS 47. So I voted in the affirmative.

Biden is my age and cognitively he's clearly diminished substantially. It's his hubris and narcissism (yes, just like Trump's) keeping Joe in. Along with his family and advisers who want to stay close to power.

Those of us Joe's age have already fucked up the planet to a fair-thee-well. It's time to let a younger, more vibrant generation clean up our messes. We've demonstrated we aren't capable of doing it.

"I know how to do the job." That's not enough. Sure Joe knows how to do the job, but so do a lot of Democratic Governors and Senators. The person I would like to see head the ticket is Josh Shapiro, the architect of the I-95 Highway Collapse Miracle. That showed Josh can put together a team, inspire and lead. And that, my friends, is most of the job of a President.

Finally, any man who attended Barrack Hebrew Academy and keeps Kosher has my vote. No more shellfish and bacon in the White House!

[Frater I*I]

No more shellfish and bacon in the White House!

Whoa now, let's pump the brakes on that heresy right there....

And by heresy I mean to tastiness...

[raison de arizona]

[Two, count 'em TWO middle fingers]

Longtime Democratic strategist James Carville says Biden should be replaced https://trib.al/kDT3YNK

[bob]

If you are going to get all Machiavellian (like Carville likes to do), the better course of action would be to nominate Biden, and then in August have him step down while everyone is on vacation. And then the party leadership can name a successor, i.e., Vice President Harris.

[bob]

For completely unrelated reasons , this again is making the rounds:

[Suranis]

Good looking couple.

[raison de arizona]

No.

Kamala Harris Should Be the Democratic Nominee for President in 2024 | Opinion
By Tim Ryan
Former Congressman from Ohio and President of We The People Action Fund

I ran for President in 2020. I was the first Presidential candidate to endorse Joe Biden in 2020. I love America. I love our Party. I love Joe Biden.

The Democratic Nominee in 2024 should be Kamala Harris.

Joe Biden's debate performance was deeply troubling. But it isn't just about a 90-minute debate and a terrible performance. This election needs to be about generational change—something about which I have been shouting for more than a year now.

I supported Joe because I believe he is a good and honorable man. I'm still very happy with my decision. He is the most pro-union, pro-manufacturing president in my lifetime. He understands the working class people—regardless of race or gender—that I represented in my Northeast Ohio Congressional District for 20 years.

He also promised to be a bridge President to the next generation. I liked that idea. I envisioned him defeating former President Donald Trump, stabilizing the country, and passing the torch to the next generation.

Regrettably, that bridge collapsed last week. Witnessing Joe Biden struggle was heartbreaking. And we must forge a new path forward.

https://www.newsweek.com/kamala-harris- ... on-1919894

[raison de arizona]

https://x.com/atrupar/status/1808025356957634991

Nobody loves that Joe Biden is 81. It would be great if he was 35. But you know what I really dislike? Authoritarianism. So I humbly beseech people to get a goddamn grip.

[raison de arizona]

https://x.com/JasmineForUS/status/1808295266992128154

If Dems found half as much energy to attack MAGA, the real threat, then we’d be good.

For all the geniuses out there who think someone else would be better,
1) explain to me who it is,
2) how they get on the ballot in all 50 states,
3) how they get the money and apparatus together to get this done in 4 months (the over 100 million Biden has on hand doesn’t transfer)
4) how we explain that a random person has been selected… subverting the votes that were casts, because of bad polls.

Dems spend all their time seeking perfection, while Republicans focus on their disastrous agenda & could care less so long as they rig the system in their favor!

USE YOUR ENERGY ADDRESSING PROJECT 2025 & the fact that this Supreme Court has laid the foundation to finalize the full destruction of our democracy!

[pipistrelle]

Crockett is the best.

[Frater I*I]

Crockett is the best.

The DNC needs to fast track her into a Senate seat as far as I concerned....

[pipistrelle]

Crockett is the best.

The DNC needs to fast track her into a Senate seat as far as I concerned....

Preferably the Cruz one.

[Luke]

I hear you, Stern. If these folks knew President Biden was struggling, why they didn't come clean a year ago is terrible. It may be the power and hubris you mention. My concern is the distraction that will be cheered and magnified by MAGAGOP; now-jailed Steve Bannon and his sycophants say over and over to make this process "as painful as possible" and I believe it.

Josh Shapiro is great, but I think he needs more national exposure and attention. We haven't seen him under the microscope. As a VP candidate, he'd help a lot in PA.

Bob has a point about after the convention, but folks have been writing and saying there are a lot of legal issues. Ballot access, state laws, etc.

Stern et al, is that true, or just people spouting off? I mean, if President Biden withdraws, or if something horrible happened, there still would be a nominee, right? The only hard issue I can imagine is ballot printing but that's not for a while.

President Biden is apparently going to meet with Governors and Congress members today 7/3. It was reported Biden still hasn't called Hakeem Jeffries and I don't understand that but I also don't know if it's true. I support those meetings as well as a full-on press conference (that shouldn't be unusual) and some interviews. No hiding. Other than a few teleprompter appearances, we haven't seen enough. In a tick tock, it was said that Biden took 2 days after Europe to recover (they pushed prep back), didn't start before 11AM, and "gave Biden time to nap each afternoon". I love President Biden but we need more than that.

It's frustrating.

In the meantime, insane West Wing leaking is NOT HELPING. Where were these people in 2023 (or 2022 or 2021)? This is frustrating and they should find these folks and toss them out, they are threatening the whole party up and down the ballot. Electeds have to be able to say and do what they think their constituents want, and what they believe, but the party and staff have a different job.

11 hours ago -
"Freaking the f*** out": Turmoil in the White House over Biden
Alex Thompson

Officials on President Biden's White House and campaign staffs say they're feeling rage, sadness, frustration and resolve over his debate performance and his team's response to it, more than a dozen White House and campaign aides told Axios.

Why it matters: Biden's performance at the debate has left many of his own aides worried about his mental fitness, and angry about what they see as a lack of candor from Biden's senior aides. "It's the first topic of every conversation," one White House official said. "Senior leadership has given us nothing. To act like it's business as usual is delusional." Another official put it more bluntly: "Everyone is freaking the f*** out." "The uncertainty after Thursday is palpable and anxiety is only increasing," a third White House official told Axios. "People are looking for leadership and direction that they were told to trust, and hoped was there, but aren't yet feeling in what is now clearly a defining moment for this presidency."
Driving the news: On Friday, the day after Biden's debate against former President Trump, many senior White House officials addressed the president's lackluster performance with staffers. Many officials felt they only were being given talking points, with no real explanation of why Biden appeared unable to string sentences together or articulate a case for himself over Trump. The lack of answers from senior aides has continued this week, leading to growing anger and resentment among many inside the Biden camp.

Reality check: Part of Biden's team sees the debate as just one bad night that will blow over, and points out that many of the president's critics previously have counted him out when he faced challenges. One longtime Biden aide told Axios: "Davos Dems love to hedge their bets against us and get hysterical, like they did in 2019. And just like after 2020, they will come back with their DNC convention lanyards in their hands, begging for Christmas party invitations and then for a plus-one."

What they're saying: Axios granted several Biden officials anonymity to describe the atmosphere in the White House and on the campaign in the days since the debate. One Biden confidante told Axios: "For everyone who really cares about Biden and his legacy, the debate was just painful to watch." "It's dark," said an official involved in the campaign. "It feels like there is zero leadership or information. People are being told to keep their heads down and keep working, but they're not seeing the president or being given any reason why they should have faith in him." Campaign spokesperson Kevin Munoz told Axios: "Campaigns are hard. No one came here under any other illusion. But I can personally tell you there's a fire lit under all of us and keeps us going every single day." He added that "we all immensely believe in President Biden — his mission, his story and his steadfast commitment to fighting for the American people." White House spokesperson Andrew Bates said that "we have a lot of experience keeping — and spreading — the faith in moments where we're counted out by staying focused on delivering for the American people and building on the most successful record of any modern presidency."
Others on Biden's team weren't so down, and were waiting to see what the president would do next. A White House official: "I am hopeful that debate night was a glitch and not a pattern. The president I know is the one I saw on Friday at the rally" in North Carolina. "I hope he gets out there more in coming weeks, so the rest of America sees the guy who we see." A person in Biden's orbit said they were "pensive — deciding what I want to do and seeing how things evolve." Another person involved in the campaign added: "I think the more that Biden is asked to step down, the more he feels like a scrappy underdog and the more he digs in." They added: "The atmosphere now is that he's going to be the nominee, so put your head down. But there is also frustration that we aren't being given the materials to move the news cycle forward. He needs to be out there."

https://www.axios.com/2024/07/02/biden- ... out-debate

[Luke]

We'll know a lot more after the holiday weekend with Americans sitting down and discussing this, and polling. But there are warning bells and cracks in the armor -- Clyburn is a big deal. And Nancy???

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, 84, told MSNBC's "Andrea Mitchell Reports" that she thinks it's "a legitimate question to say: Is this an episode, or is this a condition?"

Rep. James E. Clyburn (D-S.C.) opened the door to a post-Biden election, saying on MSNBC that he would support Vice President Harris were Biden to step aside.

Hilary Rosen, a longtime Democratic strategist, said she thinks the Biden operation “would have been better off sticking with honesty.” “You can’t tell people they didn’t see what they saw,” Rosen said. “To try to turn this around and try to make it be everybody else’s fault — it’s not only offensive, it just isn’t going to fly.”

In private, Democrats panic. For the Biden campaign, everything is fine.
The White House and the reelection campaign have chosen to emphasize happy talk, even as some in the party fear he is on a path to lose to Trump after his shaky debate performance.
Analysis by Tyler Pager and Ashley Parker
July 2, 2024 at 5:57 p.m. EDT

Democrats were panicking. Donors were despondent. And some elected officials were privately wondering whether their leader should step aside.

But in President Biden’s cosseted bubble over the past five days, his 90-minute debate stage meltdown Thursday night against former president Donald Trump was merely a “bad night,” with aides quickly retreating to what they hoped was a fail-safe mantra: But Trump is worse!

Cut through the 2024 election noise. Get The Campaign Moment newsletter.
Campaign officials touted their record fundraising on debate day. White House officials promised that Biden would bounce back at his upcoming North Carolina rally. And Jen O’Malley Dillon, the campaign chair, told nervous donors at the Ritz-Carlton in Atlanta on Friday that “nothing fundamentally changed in the race.”

By Tuesday, however, the business-as-usual calm the Biden team sought to impose had backfired, with some Democrats complaining of being gaslit.

Lots more. Free gift link: https://wapo.st/3XN8wXy

Supposed Obama concern but nobody's on the record so I'm not convinced. Generally strong reporters though. Sigh.

Obama shares concerns after shaky debate, offers Biden his advice
The former president told allies that Biden’s already-tough path to reelection grew more challenging after his debate performance on Thursday.
By Tyler Pager and Michael Scherer
July 2, 2024 at 9:28 p.m. EDT

Former president Barack Obama has privately told allies who have reached out to him that President Biden’s already-tough path to reelection grew more challenging after his shaky debate performance on Thursday — a harsher assessment of the presidential race than his public comments, according to several people familiar with his remarks. Obama separately spoke directly with Biden by phone after last Thursday’s debate to offer his support as a sounding board and private counselor for his embattled former vice president, the people said, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. It is unclear how directly Obama addressed Biden’s performance and his path to reelection on the call.

“President Biden is grateful for President Obama’s unwavering support since the very start of this campaign as both a powerful messenger to voters and a trusted adviser directly to the president,” Lauren Hitt, a spokeswoman for the Biden campaign, said in a statement. A spokesperson for Obama declined to comment.

Obama has long harbored worries about his party defeating Donald Trump in November, repeatedly warning Biden in recent months about how challenging it will be to win reelection. Just before the debate, Obama conveyed to allies his concerns about the state of the race. As some Democrats call for Biden to drop out of the presidential race amid widespread panic, Obama has not voiced that conclusion. He sees his role as being helpful to Biden based on their history of working together, the people said. On Friday, Obama appeared at a fundraiser in New York for House Democrats, where he expressed continued support for Biden.

“Bad debate nights happen,” Obama wrote on social media after the debate. “Trust me, I know. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary folks his entire life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth; who knows right from wrong and will give it to the American people straight — and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night didn’t change that, and it’s why so much is at stake in November.”

But for months, Obama has shared with Biden and friends his deep concerns about Trump’s political strengths and the real possibility he is reelected in November. In December, during a private lunch at the White House, Obama discussed the need for Biden to empower his campaign apparatus, suggesting he install a more senior level decision-maker at the Wilmington headquarters. The next month, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon and Mike Donilon left the White House to serve as campaign chair and chief strategist, respectively.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics ... ma-debate/

[SuzieC]

The only "widespread panic" I see is among the media pundits, who are deliberately stoking it for clicks and profits.

[bob]

but folks have been writing and saying there are a lot of legal issues. Ballot access, state laws, etc.

Stern et al, is that true, or just people spouting off? I mean, if President Biden withdraws, or if something horrible happened, there still would be a nominee, right? The only hard issue I can imagine is ballot printing but that's not for a while.

As always, "it depends."

In this case, it depends on when a nominee "withdraws" (voluntarily or otherwise). A presumptive nominee's (that is, pre-convention) withdrawal is different than an actual nominee's (post-convention) withdrawal.

Most (if not all) states have laws that guarantee the major parties' ballot access. That's a lesser concern.

A post-convention withdrawal would be cleaner for a party because the new nominee could be selected in a proverbial smoky backroom. But there's little to suggest a post-convention selectee would be more accepted than a nominee who survived a brutal convention fight (and, yes, it would be brutal).

* * *

The only "widespread panic" I see is among the media pundits, who are deliberately stoking it for clicks and profits.

[raison de arizona]

Tom Fitton wrote an op-ed calling for the 25th to be invoked. I'd be more interested in why he shops in the children's section.

Every single one of Biden's Cabinet members should be hauled before Congress and asked about his mental fitness and the 25th Amendment. Next week.
https://washingtontimes.com/news/2024/j ... dment-now/

[p0rtia]

I have a counter for you, Tommy Baby: I think POTUS should subpoena and seek indictments for every damned thug MAGA in Congress who participated in the insurrection. Today. Official act to save the nation from scum like you.

[AndyinPA]

[pipistrelle]

Where’s the poll asking if the other presumed nominee should drop out? He didn’t have one off night after travel. He’s shown signs of cognitive failure for quite some time.