Some Democrat lawmakers last week started to question whether President Biden should remain in the race in light of his alarming performance during the June 27 CNN debate with Donald Trump, with one Texas Rep. openly calling for the president to withdraw.
The president’s halting, mumbling, and often meandering debate responses sent elected Democrats and donors into a panic as the White House spent the first week of July trying to allay concerns over the 81-year-old Biden’s cognitive and physical health.
On July 1, senior campaign officials held a conference call with prominent donors, assuring them that the president was fit to serve.
Texas Democrat Rep. Lloyd Doggett became the first Democrat lawmaker to openly call for Biden to drop out of the presidential race, saying in a July 2 statement that the president should follow Lyndon Johnson’s example and withdraw.
Doggett said by dropping out of the race, Biden could help launch a new generation of Democrat leadership and ensure the defeat of Donald Trump.
Some Democrat aides on Capitol Hill believe that Doggett’s statement could open the floodgates to more lawmakers openly urging Biden to withdraw.
One House Democrat aide told Reuters that roughly 25 Democrat House members were preparing to ask the president to drop out if he continued to appear as shaky and confused as he did in the debate.
Another aide said the few moderate Democrat members were inundated with questions from constituents about the president’s fitness for office following the June 27 debate.
A CBS News poll conducted after June 27 found that 72 percent of voters do not believe that Biden has the cognitive ability to serve another four years in the White House.
An Ipsos/Reuters poll also conducted after the debate showed that a third of Democrat voters believe that Biden should drop out of the race.
Last Wednesday, the president met with Democrat governors at the White House to shore up their support for his reelection and calm concerns.
According to sources familiar with the meeting, Biden told the governors that he needed to get more rest and work fewer hours. He conceded that he needed to stop holding events after 8:00 p.m.