NEW YORK: For more than several days now, the Democratic Party has been mired in crisis, the US press reported. Yet there is no indication that the threat to Biden’s reelection is looming a conclusion, as he digs in and a growing chorus of Democratic officials, donors and strategists calls for him to step down, Associated Press reported.
Donors and high-profile supporters are repudiating Biden, morale inside and outside the campaign is weak, and many top Democrats are thinking whether to take a step against the embattled president. One of Biden’s close allies privately described a cycle of alternating hope and despair in the style of the movie “Groundhog Day.”
The extraordinary intra-party debate still rages fifteen days after Biden’s disastrous debate performance, with the president’s Thursday press conference doing little to quell fears regarding his prospects against Trump. Another five Democratic lawmakers called on Biden to step down in the hours since the president’s high-profile news conference, bringing to about 20 the total number of Democratic US representatives and senators publicly pushing Joe Biden to leave the contest.
President Biden’s acknowledgment Thursday that delegates were free to vote their conscience at the party’s August convention sparked a new wave of urgent talks among Democratic officials on Friday. However, President Biden insists that he will not step down. According to AP, in fact, fear is pervasive among donors and strategists working on House and Senate contests that President Biden’s weak standing could undermine the party’s position even in blue states.
One legislator, Rep. Mike Levin of California, told President Biden directly on Friday that he should step down in a virtual call hosted for members of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, AP reported. Levin said that the time has come for Biden to pass the torch.”
Some donors think President Biden still offers the best chance of defeating Donald Trump, despite Democratic voters expressing widespread doubts in polling regarding his age and readiness.
