Democrats on Capitol Hill were growing alarmed Tuesday at a lack of direct communication from President Biden since his historically bad debate performance against former President Donald Trump last week.
A senior Democratic aide told The Post Tuesday that Biden, 81, had not reached out to any lawmakers to reassure them — as would be expected following a debacle on the scale of the commander in chief’s globally televised meltdown June 27.
“You can’t have the problem you’ve had — then go to a campaign rally and think the box is checked,” added a Democratic strategist who suggested that Biden should have tried to allay concerns by going on one or more of the Sunday public affairs shows this past weekend.
As of Tuesday afternoon, just one sitting Congressional Democrat — Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas — had called on Biden to bow out of the race, and another — Rep. Jared Golden of Maine — suggested it did not matter since it “has been clear … for months … Donald Trump is going to win.”
But other lawmakers, in a sign of growing consternation, were making increasingly pointed criticisms of the White House and Biden campaign spin that the incumbent had just had “a bad night” in Atlanta.
“We have to be honest with ourselves that it wasn’t just a horrible night,” Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) told “CNN This Morning” Tuesday.
“I won’t go beyond that out of my respect and understanding for President Joe Biden, a very proud person who has served us extraordinarily well for 50 years” he went on. “I just want him to appreciate at this time just how much this impacts, not just his race, but all the other races coming in November.”
Quigley, 65, added that he wasn’t sure what, if anything, would persuade Biden to exit the race.
“I don’t know if this polling is. It probably takes, what, three, four, five [days], up to a week to get decent polling?” he said. “So, I assess we’ll probably get that starting today or tomorrow. The holiday will make polling more difficult.”
“I do think that’s probably the only thing out there right now that could change his mind or influence that critical decision that, again, only he can make.”
A day earlier, Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.) criticized the Biden camp for labeling as the “bedwetting brigade” those who had raised alarm about the debate.
“I really do criticize the campaign for a dismissive attitude towards people who are raising questions for discussion. That’s just facing the reality that we’re in,” Welch told Semafor.
What to know about the fallout from President Biden’s debate performance:
- President Biden’s poor performance in the first 2024 presidential debate has left even some Democrats unsure of his fitness for office and future as the party’s candidate.
- Former President Obama admitted that Biden had a “bad” debate, while his rival former President Trump suggested that he was in a “trance” and “choked.”
- Biden told a crowd at a North Carolina rally the day after the debate that he doesn’t “debate as well as I used to” — but insisted that he can still “do this job.”
- The New York Times editorial board called on the president to serve the country by dropping out of the race. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution published a similar editorial a day later.
- Biden gathered with his family to assess the campaign’s future at Camp David, with his son Hunter reportedly pushing for him to stay in the race. Family members questioned if the president’s top advisors should be fired after the disastrous debate.
- Legendary journalist Carl Bernstein revealed that sources close to Biden have witnessed as many as 20 episodes of cognitive decline in the past year.
- Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-Texas) became the first House Democrat to call on Biden to drop out.
“The campaign has raised the concerns themselves. So then to be dismissive of others who raise those concerns, I think it’s inappropriate.”
Welch’s fellow New Englander, Sheldon White House (D-RI) told a local news outlet Monday that he was “was pretty horrified by the debate.”
“The blips of President Biden and the barrage of lying from President Trump were not what one would hope for in a presidential debate,” told WPRI.
“I have never seen that happen before.”
The Post reported Monday night that Democratic donors are willing to give the Biden campaign a two-week “grace period” for polling numbers to recover from any debate-related drop before pressing for a change at the top of the ticket.
- Watch Biden’s worst moments during the presidential debate
- Who could replace Joe Biden after disastrous presidential debate?
- Democrats panicked at Biden’s debate debacle — and aren’t fooling anyone as they now pretend everything’s fine
- Trump inches ahead of Biden nationally after prez’s disastrous debate: new poll
- Biden campaign working overtime to ‘minimize’ concern after disastrous debate, hold hastily arranged DNC call
- Biden admits, ‘I know I’m not a young man in new battleground state ad after debate disaster
Meanwhile, CNN reported that Democratic Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz organized a Monday night call of his fellow Democratic state leaders — none of whom had heard directly from Biden.
The White House promised to remedy the situation Tuesday afternoon, saying meetings with both Democratic governors and congressional leaders were in the works.
Biden’s campaign has rejected speculation that he would consider dropping out and insisted that he still plans to partake in the scheduled Sept. 10 ABC News debate against Trump.