Congressional Black Caucus chair Horsford says he still supports Biden
Democratic congressman Steven Horsford, who chairs the Congressional Black Caucus, has restated his support for Joe Biden as the president faces pressure to call off his bid for re-election.
In addition to leading the group of African-American lawmakers, Horsford also represents a district in Nevada, a swing state that Biden hopes to win in November. Here’s what he had to say:
— Steven Horsford (@StevenHorsford) July 8, 2024
Black voters are an integral part of the Democratic coalition, and Biden has dedicated much of his time since the debate to appealing to the group, including with a visit to a predominantly African-American church in Philadelphia yesterday. Here’s more on that:
During his interview with MSNBC, “Morning Joe” co-anchor Mika Brzezinski read to Joe Biden a list of people and media outlets that have said it would be better if the president stepped aside.
When Biden heard her say David Axelrod, a prominent former advisor to his one-time boss Barack Obama, he sarcastically exclaimed, “Oh! You’re kidding!”
Axelrod has indeed been among Biden’s doubters, and earlier today, he pondered why the Trump campaign appeared to be holding back with attacking the president over his debate performance:
Trump's not talking much about Biden's bad debate. Trump's campaign is not blitzing ads about it. And Lara Trump said last week it would be an affront to democracy if Biden were not the nominee.
— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) July 8, 2024
Question: Why do you think they are uncharacteristically holding fire?
Axelrod appears to be implying that the Trump campaign does not want Biden to suspend his campaign, as they think he will be easier to beat.
Let’s check in on some of those “elites” that Joe Biden railed against in his interview on MSNBC this morning.
The president was likely referring to people like Jon Favreau, a former top speechwriter for Barack Obama who has been critical of Biden remaining in the race. Here were his thoughts on Biden’s comments this morning:
Biden on Morning Joe:
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) July 8, 2024
Energy is great! Sounds strong! Love that part.
Message absolutely sucks - angry, defensive, lashing out at all the wrong people.
Just please, please talk about voter concerns, how you'll address them, and how Trump will make them worse. That's all!
And here, Favreau seems to be responding directly to Biden’s comments about only the Democratic “elites” wanting him to go:
Replace Biden as nominee:
— Jon Favreau (@jonfavs) July 8, 2024
64% all voters
55% Black voters
66% Hispanic voters
48% Biden (!) voters
Biden is too old to be an effective president:
69% all voters
62% Black voters
68% Hispanic voters
55% Biden voters
This is from the NYT PRE-debate poll, Trump 48-Biden 42,…
Democratic senator cancels meeting to discuss Biden exit - report
Mark Warner, the Democratic senator from Virginia, has called off his meeting planned for today in which lawmakers were to discuss whether Joe Biden should continue campaigning for re-election, Axios reports.
Details of the meeting leaked out last week, making it impossible for the sensitive discussion to take place, according to Axios, which notes that Senate Democrats have a regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday.
Biden has seen fewer detractors emerge in the Senate than in the House, and over the weekend, Bernie Sanders, an independent senator who caucuses with the Democrats, signaled support for Biden, while calling on him to double down on progressive economic policies.
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Joe Biden is not alone in believing that all the talk of him dropping out is hurting the re-election efforts of Democrats nationwide.
Ritchie Torres, a Democratic congressman from New York, said much of the same earlier today:
Regardless of where one stands on the question of President Biden’s political future, the intra-party mixed messaging strikes me as deeply self-destructive.
— Ritchie Torres (@RitchieTorres) July 8, 2024
Those publicly calling on President Biden to withdraw should ask themselves a simple question: what if the President…
It’s not an outright endorsement of Biden staying in the race, but perhaps a preview of the messaging to come from those who believe he is the party’s best bet, even after the debate stumble.
It’s not even 10.30am in the nation’s capital, and already, Joe Biden has issued two forceful rebuttals against those who believe he should call it a day after his underwhelming debate performance.
In addition to his surprise live interview on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”, the president sent congressional Democrats a letter outlining all the reasons they should stick with him, and cut it out with the talk of looking for a replacement.
And in a sign that the White House believes this is a battle best fought in the open, Biden has shared the letter from his official account on X:
This morning, I sent a letter to my fellow Democrats on Capitol Hill. In it, I shared my thoughts about this moment in our campaign.
— Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 8, 2024
It’s time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump. pic.twitter.com/ABtAaJrr0n
The interview has now wrapped.
Besides insisting he will stay in the race and defending his policies, Joe Biden spent significant time in the unscheduled phone call with MSNBC insulting Donald Trump.
“He makes George Wallace look like a patriot,” the president said in the final moments of the call.
He also laid into Trump for the many lies he told in their debate encounter: “He’s just a liar, and he hasn’t done a damn thing since the debate. He’s been riding around in the golf cart for 10 days down in Mar-a-Lago talking with his wealthy friends.”
“I beat him last time. I’ll beat him this time,” Biden said.
Biden tells detractors: 'Challenge me at the convention'
As the interview continued, Joe Biden signaled irritation with the “elites” who he said were unjustifiably calling for him to quit.
“I’m getting so frustrated by the elites, I’m not talking about you guys, but about the elite in the party, who … know so much more,” Biden said. He again stumbled over his words for a bit, but the message was clear: those who say he should step down should “challenge me at the convention”, the president said.
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Biden was then asked to respond to the cascade of notable Democrats saying it would be better if he did not continue his re-election bid.
The president responded by reciting his accomplishments, before saying:
I’m not going to explain any more about what I should or shouldn’t do. I am running. I am running.
“Morning Joe” co-host Mika Brzezinski then asked Joe Biden how he can ensure that he does not repeat his troubling debate performance.
“Look at my career, I have not had many of those nights. It was a terrible night, and I really regret it happened,” the president said. He then jumbled his words a bit, implying that there is no way to tell if something might happen to you “on your way to go to work tomorrow”.
Biden then responded more directly to calls for him to take a cognitive test, saying “In terms of my neurological capacity, I had a physical neurological physical as well in February, it’s released. I released all my records, all of them all, and I have a neurological test every single day. Try sitting behind this desk and making these decisions.”
Biden says 'I am not going anywhere' in surprise call-in to morning show
Joe Biden is currently making unscheduled remarks live on the air with MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” where he reiterated his resolve to continue his campaign.
“The bottom line here is that we’re not going anywhere. I am not going anywhere. I wouldn’t be running if I didn’t absolutely believe that I am the best candidate to beat down Trump,” the president said.
Two arguments form the backbone of Joe Biden’s letter to Democratic lawmakers saying that he will not drop out: that his victory in the primaries makes calls for him to exit anti-Democratic, and that his accomplishments will guide him to victory.
“I feel a deep obligation to the faith and the trust the voters of the Democratic Party have placed in me to run this year. It was their decision to make. Not the press, not the pundits, not the big donors, not any selected group of individuals, no matter how well intentioned. The voters – and the voters alone – decide the nominee of the Democratic Party. How can we stand for democracy in our nation if we ignore it in our own party? I cannot do that. I will not do that,” Biden wrote.
The letter then goes into all of the promises of his campaign, and the policies he would continue in his second term:
I have no doubt that I – and we – can and will beat Donald Trump. We have an historic record of success to run on. From creating over 15 million jobs (including 200,000 just last month), reaching historic lows on unemployment, to revitalizing American manufacturing with 800,000 jobs, to protecting and expanding affordable health care, to rebuilding America’s roads, bridges, highways, ports and airports, and water systems, to beating Big Pharma and lowering the cost of prescription drugs, including $35 a month insulin for seniors, to providing student debt relief for nearly 5 million Americans to an historic investment in combatting climate change.
Biden warns Democrats talk of replacing him helps Donald Trump
Joe Biden sent a letter this morning to Democratic lawmakers, telling them that he has no plans to end his bid for re-election despite concerns over his debate performance and ability to serve as president, and warning that talk of replacing him undercuts his ability to defeat Donald Trump.
“Now that you have returned from the July 4th recess, I want you to know that despite all the speculation in the press and elsewhere, I am firmly committed to staying in this race, to running this race to the end, and to beating Donald Trump,” the president wrote.
In a clear reference to his debate performance, Biden noted that over the past week and a half, “I have heard the concerns that people have – their good faith fears and worries about what is at stake in this election. I am not blind to them.”
But Biden made clear that he felt he was the best candidate to defeat Trump, and noted that he had faced primary challengers who came nowhere near to preventing him from gaining the delegates necessary to becoming the Democrats’s presumptive nominee.
“Do we now just say this process didn’t matter? That the voters don’t have a say?” Biden asked.
He closed by noting that relatively little time remains before the 5 November election, and that arguing over whether he can still do the job hurts the Democratic cause:
The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end. We have one job. And that is to beat Donald Trump. We have 42 days to the Democratic Convention and 119 days to the general election. Any weakening of resolve or lack of clarity about the task ahead only helps Trump and hurts us. It is time to come together, move forward as a unified party, and defeat Donald Trump.
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Cracks emerge over Biden's future as congressional Democrats return to Washington
Good morning, US politics blog readers. All eyes will be on the Capitol today, as the House of Representatives and Senate reconvene for the first time since the presidential debate late last month, during which Joe Biden’s lethargic performance raised anew concerns about his fitness to lead for another four years. Despite the president’s insistence, including in a closely watched ABC News interview on Friday, that he is not giving up, Democratic lawmakers will be under pressure to weigh in on if they believe that choice is wise, or if the president should step aside and put the party in the risky and unprecedented position of selecting a new candidate less than four months before the election. All signs point to deep divides among Democrats over this question, particularly House lawmakers, who have been more vocal. Yesterday, several veteran representatives reportedly told minority leader Hakeem Jeffries during a private call that they though it would be better if Biden quit, joining a small group who have already said so publicly. But other lawmakers say they continue to back Biden, while an even greater number have not spoken at all. We will see if any others make their views known today.
Here are some other things to know:
Biden has nothing public on his schedule today, nor does Kamala Harris, who would immediately be in the spotlight, if he chooses not to continue his run. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre will take questions from reporters at 1.30pm ET.
Nato leaders are heading to Washington DC this week for a summit focused on global security – but they, too, are aware of and concerned about Biden’s debate performance.
Texas and Nevada, the latter a swing state that may be pulling out of Democrats’ orbit, will both be getting visits from Biden next week, the White House announced. The president will mark the 60th anniversary of the civil rights act in Austin, before heading to Las Vegas to address the annual conventions of Black and Hispanic civil rights groups.
