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Senior Democrats are in “panic mode” as Joe Biden insisted he would not abandon his presidential re-election campaign despite serious concerns growing over his mental fitness for office.
Anonymous lawmakers described the situation facing Biden and the Democratic party in a pointed interview with Politico.
“Everybody wants him to quit. There’s a sense of despair,” the unnamed lawmaker told the outlet. “I think people don’t understand how we get out of this hole. And we’re hurtling toward losing to Trump.
“All my text chains in Congress go from a dark humor to ‘let’s take action.’ … I don’t find any discernible group of people who actually believe we’re going to win with Joe Biden.”
Pressure on Biden to step down from the campaign has intensified in recent days, following his disastrous performance in last Thursday’s debate against Donald Trump, in which he spoke in a raspy voice and appeared, on multiple occasions, to lose his train of thought.
Despite this, the embattled president has been firm with his determination to stay in the race, reportedly telling staff during a call on Wednesday: “I am running.”
“No one’s pushing me out,” he said. “I’m not leaving. I’m in this race to the end and we’re going to win.”
However, sources told The Independent that campaign staffers are preparing to shift their focus to elevating, then electing, Vice President Kamala Harris, instead of Biden.
Several prominent Democrats have also voiced their concerns publicly, including Texas representative Lloyd Doggett and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who said on Tuesday it was “legitimate” to question the president’s faculties.
Politico reported that behind the scenes, things were even worse: “Everybody’s in panic mode, and I don’t even know what to say,” one senior Democratic House lawmaker told the outlet.
However, members of the party are divided on how to move forward, with some waiting for clearer polling or further discussion with colleagues and advisors.
The House will return from its July 4 recess on Monday, when members will gather, increasing the likelihood of collective action. Until then Politico reports, members will be forced to privately discuss their courses of action in group chats and phone calls.
Another aspect of major concern for many Democrats has been the president’s team’s attempts at damage control, with dismissals, excuses, and rebukes from official White House spokespeople.
“Biden’s surrogates calling all of us ‘bedwetters’ is backfiring more than helping,” one Democrat said.
It comes amid fallout from a New York Times article, published on Wednesday, in which a key ally to the president said he had admitted he would have to end his re-election campaign if he could not convince voters that he was up for the job and that his next several crucial public appearances could shape his plans for 2024.
White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates told The Independent that the claims in the article were “absolutely false” and that the Times had not given the administration enough time to respond.
Elsewhere on Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre spent much of her daily press briefing telling reporters that it was Biden’s intention to stay in.
Biden is scheduled for an interview with ABC News host George Stephanopoulos on Friday followed by campaign stops in critical swing states Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
