James Antle of the Washington Examiner assesses Democrats’ response to President Biden’s mental challenges.
President Joe Biden made a bad debate performance worse with days of dithering afterward before shoring up support among key Democratic decision-makers.
Now Democrats who fear Biden cannot win in November risk repeating that mistake with their own protracted period of indecision about how to proceed.
Biden finally took the offensive in an attempt to rescue his flagging reelection bid and then followed up with a steady performance at the NATO summit, where Democrats were loath to undermine the commander in chief. Soon the spotlight will shift back to former President Donald Trump, his vice presidential pick, and the Republican National Convention.
Yet congressional Democrats failed to coalesce around any one approach to Biden’s candidacy this week, with some denouncing the circular firing squad directing fire at the president, others calling on the presumptive Democratic nominee to bow out before next month’s convention, and still others privately worrying about their November prospects but saying nothing in public or on the record to reporters.
A trickle of Democratic lawmakers continue to come out against the president. The number of House Democrats publicly seeking Biden’s withdrawal is up to seven. A pair of at-risk Democratic incumbents were among those reportedly telling their party’s Senate luncheon that Biden cannot win. Leadership has been supportive, if equivocal when commenting about Biden’s future, with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) saying, “I’m with Joe.”
But the Congressional Black Caucus came out in support of Biden this week, a group whose numbers far exceed those of the Democrats asking Biden to drop out. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), perhaps the most influential member of the progressive “Squad,” is sticking with Biden.
If anything, anti-Biden Democrats appear to be going wobbly. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-NY) was reported to be among a group of senior Democrats who agreed Biden should bow out but has since backed down.
