Dems' dam breaks on Biden
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💥 Five days after President Biden's terrible debate, the dam holding together Democrats' support for the 81-year-old president broke open today.
- Rep. Lloyd Doggett of Texas became the first Democratic lawmaker to call for Biden to step aside, and there were signs more could follow.
- Another Texas Democrat, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, certainly seemed to go there in an appearance on MSNBC.
- ⚡️ "I think that this is going to open the floodgates," Castro said. "I actually don't see a path now for President Biden to stay in this race for the long term."
🐊 Democrats across Capitol Hill — increasingly worried about Biden being a drag on their races and Republicans winning both the House and Senate — made clear Biden's debate problem wasn't going away.
- Many said the Biden campaign's attempt to quash concerns about the president's political strength and fitness for office — in part by casting doubters as overwrought — was backfiring.
- Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) made waves by saying of Biden's fitness: "I think it's a legitimate question to say, is this an episode or is this a condition?" Her office later said she still had confidence in Biden.
- ⚠️ "Some of us don't want to wake up on Nov. 6 kicking ourselves because we had all of these red flags and warnings and we couldn't muster the courage to do something about it," one House Democrat told Axios.
- Meanwhile, a pre-planned meeting of House Democrats intended to focus on the party's political messaging devolved into a grievance fest about Biden, Axios has learned.
📉 CNN released a poll indicating that 75% of Americans think Democrats have a better chance of winning the White House with another candidate besides Biden.
- It also said Vice President Kamala Harris would fare better than Biden against former President Trump.
🗣️ What they're saying: Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), in an interview with Semafor, chastised the campaign for its "dismissive attitude," alluding to a fundraising email last week that brushed off those with concerns as "bedwetters."
- 😬 "There is a lot of apprehension. ... There's no other way to describe it," Rep. Mike Quigley (D-Ill.) told Axios.
- Quigley said public worries are surfacing this week because it "took some time to process" the fallout from Biden's poor showing in the debate.
- Pointing to Trump's Project 2025 plans and the Supreme Court's immunity decision on presidential actions, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said Democrats "must be laser-focused on winning, not hand-wringing, or sentimentality, or insulting each other as 'bedwetters,' or anything else."
😡 The "bedwetters" line has lawmakers particularly up in arms, with one House Democrat telling Axios indignantly, "Consider me a 'bedwetter.' This is not getting better."
- "This is real! To ignore what the public obviously feels is ridiculous. ... What's hard to burn away is the president being walked off the stage by his wife down the stairs," added the lawmaker, who spoke anonymously citing political sensitivities.
Several House Democrats told Axios they think Biden should meet with the Democratic Caucus to address lawmakers' concerns.
- "Explain what happened and explain how it won't happen again," said Rep. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio).
- Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) suggested meeting with the caucus would be "important" for Biden and said the president should also sit down with a TV news anchor who has a "high degree of respect."
- 📺 Later in the day, Biden's team announced he'd sit for an interview with ABC's George Stephanopoulos, to be aired Friday.
Biden's campaign referred us to a past statement from spokesperson Mia Ehrenberg that Biden "is absolutely not dropping out."
