Biden is on a knife鈥檚 edge: Can he hang on?
| Washington
Joe Biden lived to fight another day.听
But in performing adequately at a press conference last night, with some notable gaffes, the president only prolonged the profoundly consequential听debate over whether he should be the Democratic Party鈥檚 nominee in November.
President Biden is fighting for his political life, amid serious concerns about mental acuity and his ability to defeat former President Donald Trump. Less than four months before Election Day, the clock is ticking.听
Why We Wrote This
Heading into the Republican nominating convention next week, the Democratic Party is still roiled over whether to rally behind the president or quickly find a replacement. Thursday鈥檚 press conference didn鈥檛 settle the matter.
Mr. Biden鈥檚 core supporters expressed confidence in his performance, in which he spoke knowledgeably, if haltingly, about foreign policy after hosting a summit of NATO leaders in Washington.听
鈥淚鈥檓 all in,鈥� said Democratic Rep. Jim Clyburn of South Carolina听. Representative Clyburn, who was key to Mr. Biden鈥檚 2020 victory, recently raised eyebrows by suggesting听听in the event that Mr. Biden dropped out of the race.
鈥淭rump world鈥� is watching closely, too. The view among the former president鈥檚 team is that they鈥檇 prefer to run against Mr. Biden, but they鈥檙e also prepping for听the possibility that Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the nominee.
After Mr. Biden beat low expectations Thursday, at least one Republican strategist aligned with Mr. Trump agreed that the president didn鈥檛 disqualify himself. The Florida-based Trump ally, speaking anonymously to be more frank, assessed Mr. Biden鈥檚 press conference in a text to the Monitor: 鈥淧assable for another couple of days.鈥澨�
The steady drip of bad news for Mr. Biden continues. After the press conference, three more Democratic House members called on the president to drop out of the race: Jim Himes of Connecticut, Scott Peters of California, and Eric Sorenson of Illinois, bringing the number of House Democratic defections to at least 18.听
The swift announcements suggested that their news releases were ready to go before the press conference, and that barring a significantly improved performance by Mr. Biden after his听disastrous debate June 27听with Mr. Trump, the members鈥� minds were made up. It didn鈥檛 help that, on Wednesday, actor George Clooney called on Mr. Biden to step aside, after interacting with him in person at a major fundraiser he hosted in Los Angeles last month.听
Right before the press conference, Mr. Biden stumbled badly. He mistakenly introduced Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as 鈥淧resident Putin鈥� 鈥� quickly correcting himself, but the damage was done. Then, during the press conference, he answered a question on Vice President Harris鈥� fitness to be president by referring to her as 鈥淰ice President Trump.鈥澨�
Mr. Biden did say that his VP was qualified for the presidency 鈥� and opened the door a crack to leaving the race if his advisers told him he had no chance of winning.听
鈥淚 believe I鈥檓 the best qualified to govern,鈥� Mr. Biden . 鈥淎nd I think I鈥檓 the best qualified to win. But there are other people who could beat Trump, too. But it鈥檚 awful to start 鈥� to start 鈥� start from scratch.鈥�
For now,听听that Mr. Biden trails Mr. Trump by a few percentage points, and is far less popular than the presumptive GOP nominee within their respective parties. A PBS News/NPR/Marist poll released Friday showed that听听thought Mr. Biden should not be the party鈥檚 nominee 鈥� triple the share of Republicans who said the same thing about Mr. Trump.
鈥淩ight now, it鈥檚 a moving target 鈥� will Biden step down?鈥� says Karlyn Bowman, an expert on polling at the American Enterprise Institute. 鈥淚f you look below the hood, Biden鈥檚 weakness as a candidate, being able to do the job, is very significant.鈥�
Most ominously for the Democrats, Mr. Biden鈥檚听听of late, shifting three 鈥� Arizona, Georgia, and Nevada 鈥� from toss-up to 鈥渓ean Republican.鈥� And must-win Pennsylvania has moved from 鈥渓ean Democrat鈥� to toss-up,听.
Examples of American presidents struggling in their reelection campaigns abound. Some recover and some don鈥檛. Then there are those who opt out altogether. In March 1968, amid protests over the Vietnam War, President Lyndon Johnson shocked the nation by abandoning his campaign for a second full term. Another relevant case is President Harry Truman, who in March 1952 declined to run because of low job approval ratings.
Mr. Biden鈥檚 situation is different 鈥� the nation is not at war 鈥� but the political challenges related to an apparent听decline, at times, in vigor and sharpness are no less profound.听
鈥淭he vast majority of presidents want a second term,鈥� says Matthew Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 historically been seen as the barometer of a successful presidency.鈥�
But today, the context is in some ways dramatically different, he says. In the modern age, presidents are expected to disclose health issues with the public. Gone are the days when a president (Franklin Roosevelt) could hide the fact that he used a wheelchair or, in the case of President Woodrow Wilson, conceal incapacitation听following听a stroke.
The advent of social media, too, and the deluge of information now available to the public, have changed the ballgame. In 1984, when President Ronald Reagan was running for reelection as the then-oldest American to hold the office, his administration and campaign 鈥渨ere able to manage his image in ways that would simply be impossible today,鈥� Professor Dallek says.
Mr. Biden and his team have no choice but to grapple with the new reality. Just a day after his first full press conference since November 2023, which may have kept some critics at bay, there鈥檚 more bad news. Donors are withholding some $90 million from a super political action committee devoted to the reelection campaign if Mr. Biden stays in the race,听.
On Thursday night, the top House Democrat, Hakeem Jeffries, met with Mr. Biden to convey the views of his caucus and discuss 鈥渢he path forward,鈥澨�.听Mr. Biden met virtually Friday with various congressional groups to allay concerns about his electability. 听a House Democrat told the president to his face that he should drop out of the race.听
Mr. Biden鈥檚 reelection effort is clearly still on a knife鈥檚 edge.
