President Biden’s family is urging him to stay in the race and fight on despite his disastrous performance in last week’s debate, even as some members of his clan privately expressed anger at how his staff prepared him for the event people familiar with the situation said Sunday.
Mr. Biden huddled with his wife, children and grandchildren at Camp David as he tried to figure out how to curb Democrats’ fears. While his relatives are aware of how poorly he performed against former President Donald J. Trump, they argued that he could still show the country that he was capable of serving another four years.
Mr. Biden has also asked advisers for ideas on how to proceed, and his aides have discussed whether he should hold a news conference or sit in for interviews to defend himself and change the narrative, but nothing has been decided yet.
One of the loudest voices imploring Mr. Biden to resist pressure to exit was his son Hunter Biden, on whom the president has long leaned for advice, said one of the people briefed on the discussions, who like others was on condition spoke on condition of anonymity to share internal reflections. Hunter Biden wants Americans to see the version of his father he knows — combative and knowledgeable — rather than the stumbling, aging president Americans saw Thursday night.
Other family members tried to figure out how they could be helpful. At least one of the president’s grandchildren has expressed interest in becoming more involved in the campaign, perhaps through conversations with social media influencers, the person with knowledge of the matter said.
Anger among Democrats was evident on Sunday when John Morgan, a top Democratic donor, publicly blamed the aides leading the presidential debate preparations, naming Ron Klain, Anita Dunn and Bob Bauer.
“Biden has been deceived by the value of Anita Dunn and her husband for too long,” Mr. Morgan wrote on social media. “You have to go…TODAY. The insult is disgusting. It was political misconduct.”
He explained this in more detail in a subsequent interview. “It would be like taking a prizefighter who wants a title fight into the sauna for 15 hours and then telling him, ‘Go fight,'” he said. “I think the debate is all about Ron Klain, Bob Bauer and Anita Dunn.”
Members of Mr. Biden’s family are also said to have targeted the president’s aides, including Ms. Dunn, a senior White House adviser, and her husband, Mr. Bauer, the president’s personal lawyer who played Mr. Trump during debate rehearsals.
They asked why they thought Mr. Klain, the former White House chief of staff who led the preparations, would allow himself to be bombarded with statistics, and they were angry that Mr. Biden, who had a summer tan, had been so made up, that she looked pale and pale, said one of the people who was in contact with several family members.
But the person said that the president himself was not among those upset and that he still trusted Mr. Klain, Ms. Dunn, Mr. Bauer and the others. Other Democrats said it was unfair to blame staff for the president’s own failings, rejecting what they described as typical second-guessing and scapegoating. Some Democrats pointed out that family members did not attend the preparation sessions.
In the days since the debate, Mr. Biden has admitted privately and publicly that he did not do well, and he has called on trusted advisers like Mr. Klain; Ted Kaufman, his longtime advisor and friend; and Jon Meacham, the historian and informal advisor; as well as important donors and party members.
But two people familiar with Mr. Biden’s calls said they were more concerned with listening to what people were saying than seeking advice on how to reevaluate his future. One of the people on Mr. Biden’s phone tree said the president wanted to continue campaigning intensely to draw a contrast with Mr. Trump, a convicted felon who tried to overturn the last election and made numerous false statements during the debate .
While the campaign has vigorously rejected advice that Mr. Biden should resign just weeks before the roll-call vote to formalize his nomination for another candidate, many Democrats, including some who work for the president, said they did not believe that The door to this is not yet closed.
But Mr. Biden is a proud man, and they said they believed the odds of him trying to stamp it out were still 4 or 5 to 1. It was a dignified way out in which he would take credit could make, having toppled Mr. Trump in 2020, restoring the country and serving as a transition to the next generation.
A new CBS News poll found there is strong sentiment among Democratic voters for Mr. Biden, 81, to give up the seat to a younger candidate. Forty-five percent of Democrats said they wanted another candidate to take on Mr. Trump. Among voters overall, just 27 percent believe Mr. Biden has the mental and cognitive health to serve as president. Before the debate it was 35 percent.
Democratic allies used Sunday’s talk shows to defend the president. “If they didn’t do a little hand-wringing, they wouldn’t be Democrats,” Sen. Raphael Warnock of Georgia said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” But he added: “Joe Biden has demonstrated the character and courage of the man he is, not over 90 minutes but over the last four years.”
Maryland Gov. Wes Moore acknowledged that Mr. Biden’s age was a concern for voters. “The number 81 is an important number,” he said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “But that also applies to the historically low unemployment rates. And I don’t think we should lose sight of that.”
Mr. Moore said he would not run if Mr. Biden dropped out. “Joe Biden will not withdraw from this race and nor should he,” he said. “He was a remarkable partner.”
Former Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed talk of the president resigning. “I support the Biden-Harris ticket,” she told Jen Psaki, a former Biden press secretary, on MSNBC. “I’m not going to abandon Joe Biden because of any speculation right now.”
If major discussions about the president’s future take place with the family, two Biden confidants said, they would not take place at Camp David, where too many people outside the family could overhear.
The family had already planned to spend the weekend at Camp David before the debate, including to take part in a photo shoot with experienced celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz. It was the first time the entire family had gathered in one place since Hunter Biden was convicted of federal gun charges; He still faces conviction and further proceedings on tax charges.
A senior administration official who was not authorized to provide details of internal discussions said there was an ongoing debate about how the president would proceed – not about leaving, but about how best to ensure that he did shouldn’t do it.
The version of Mr. Biden that has appeared at rallies and fundraisers since Atlanta is more like the person his advisers describe — someone energetic, emphatic and ready to keep fighting through November.
But some aides were unhappy with his reliance on a teleprompter at fundraisers, a practice pushed by aides who wanted the president to be more disciplined even in informal situations. An adviser said Mr. Biden had been “put off” by a more informal approach in recent months.
Source link
2024-06-30 19:29:58
www.nytimes.com