Washington.– Senator Christopher S. Murphy, the ambitious young Democrat from Connecticut, went on television Sunday and sent a word-for-word warning to President Biden about the viability of his campaign.
“This week is going to be absolutely crucial, I think the president needs to do more,” Murphy said, arguing that Biden needs to hold a town hall and participate in impromptu events because “time is running out” for him, in order to allay doubts about his candidacy that arose from his disastrous debate performance.
Murphy has repeatedly emphasized the timing, saying he and voters should see more action “this week.”
Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who briefly ran for president, said Biden needs to “reassure the American people and show them that he can run a vigorous campaign to defeat Donald Trump.”
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington, a senior member of the Democratic team, issued a statement saying the president “must do more to show that he can mount a strong campaign to defeat Donald Trump.”
So far, Biden has done none of that.
Having spent a week and a half amid bouts of private panic and public skepticism about Biden’s viability as a candidate and mumbling among themselves about how best to remove him from the race — say, by sending him a strongly worded letter, holding a White House meeting, having a high-level intervention — top Democrats on Tuesday settled on a strategy that many of them agreed could be disastrous: do nothing, at least for now.
Longtime party loyalists say they can only hope for another major public gaffe from Biden, such as a serious stumble during his NATO news conference, or persuading reluctant members of Congress to speak out or convincing the president to drop out of the race.
Behind closed doors, there is a consensus forming among members of the House’s more swing chambers that Democrats would have a better chance of winning the majority if Vice President Kamala Harris leads the ticket.
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