Wednesday, July 3, 2024, 7:10 PM
Joe Biden’s team is struggling to establish its leader’s political credibility, but above all, to prevent it from seeping out through the many fissures that have opened in the Democratic community and the donor bloc. The candidate is trying hard to improve his image, but with elusive results. The voices of coreligionists are increasing, privately advocating for a new headliner before too much time passes and the campaign reaches the point of no return. During a fundraising event in Virginia held on Tuesday night, the president spoke of his failure in the televised debate with Trump last week and attributed his hesitations and lack of reflexes to the fatigue caused by his tight travel schedule, including two trips to Europe in less than a month. And he backed it up with an unfortunate phrase: “I almost fell asleep on stage.”
The comeback that strategists are pursuing is titanic. The New York Times reported yesterday that Biden had told a close associate and key ally in his race of his possible intention to abandon the campaign if he fails to convince Americans in the coming days of his strength to lead the country again. In that conversation, he reportedly stated that he would only continue if he felt confident of being able to win the elections, which would be the first sign from the president that he was considering withdrawing from the race. However, White House spokesman Andrew Bates later denied the news: “That statement is absolutely false.”
The candidate has spoken to only a handful of fellow Democrats since Thursday’s fiasco. Perhaps the most emotional exchange was with Barack Obama, a key ally of the Democratic platform, which took place the same night as the debate. Biden was devastated. The former president conveyed his full support and offered some advice, some of it born of the setbacks he himself experienced during his time in the White House. The next day, Obama participated in a fundraiser in New York and wrote in X. “There are bad debate nights. But this election is still a choice between someone who has fought for ordinary people all his life and someone who only cares about himself. Between someone who tells the truth, who knows right from wrong and tells it to the American people openly, and someone who lies through his teeth for his own benefit. Last night did not change that, and that is why the stakes are so high in November.”
Media outreach
There may be an underlying underlying factor behind the exchange of information about Biden’s possible insinuation. The president’s team is banking on the two upcoming rallies in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, which have scheduled an interview for him this week and on Friday with ABC News’ star presenter George Stephanopulos. It will be the first in-depth conversation that the White House tenant has given to a media outlet in several weeks. His critics in the Democratic Party have criticized him precisely for this almost secular distancing from journalists and contrast it with the attitude of his wife, Jill Biden, who has had no problem recounting her daily activity in the electoral campaign to ‘Vogue’.
The advisers have even organised a press conference for the veteran candidate next week in an unprecedented but undoubtedly interesting gesture. At the last routine press conference at the White House, held on Tuesday, the head of communications, Karine Jean-Pierre, had to answer questions related to the president’s health for almost an hour. Jean-Pierre ruled out the need for him to undergo medical or neurological examinations and added that his condition is perfect. “We will go all over the country and the Americans will see for themselves,” she added.
Nevertheless, there are risks. Sources close to the president believe that each of these public appearances will be a test of fire for Biden “until the echoes of the debate die away.” Especially because everyone will be scrutinizing his gestures and reactions and the question remains whether he will suffer from the same disorientation that 53 million Americans saw in the debate with Trump. If that happens, withdrawal is likely.
Lagging behind Trump
What the Democratic candidate said to his supporters in Virginia as a metaphor (“I almost fell asleep on stage”) is a fairly faithful portrait of the electoral reality that terrifies the Democrats. Within the party there is a conviction that Biden’s “failure” in front of CNN cameras could be a demonstration of rampant weakness. That, indeed, he is “falling asleep.” His internal detractors are asking him to move on. It is evident that he has slowed down the pace of his campaign for some time and is falling behind his Republican rival. Trump, for his part, seems to be taking vitamins for breakfast. He has become increasingly stronger, more present, and all thanks to issues outside the electoral program.
His legal troubles and the Supreme Court ruling that just ruled on presidential immunity based on his position keep the former president on the front page every day. This state of apparent popular favor led him to the White House in 2016 thanks to many false statements and radical speeches he made.
Lloyd Doggett, the Texas lawmaker who was instrumental in getting Biden nominated for the presidency in 2020, became the first Democrat on Monday to call on him to resign so as “not to hand the country over” to the Republican tycoon. Like him, many members of the party understand that Trump could achieve a crushing victory in November if Biden remains at the head of the electoral campaign.
The first to be concerned about this are Democratic donors. They are full of Wall Street and technology executives, as well as the very wealthy and many of America’s top financiers. If Trump returns to the White House, he will not spare them. American Bridge 21st Century, a research and rapid response organization for the Democratic Party’s crises, gathered fifty major Biden donors in Aspen, Colorado, the morning after the debate. The vast majority said it would be wise to remove the president from the campaign. The Democratic Alliance decided to maintain its support for Biden, prevailing after a bitter argument with contributors who wanted to issue a public statement in favor of Biden’s resignation.
Polls by his advisers say the polls show a technical tie between the two candidates after the Democrat’s ordeal in the CNN studios. Another poll by a Biden aid fund, the so-called Super-PAC, however, shows him trailing by two percentage points in several key states, including New Mexico, Virginia and New Hampshire. And a powerful website that coordinates fundraising for the party says its members would be happier if Vice President Kamala Harris were named as the head of the list.
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