Our most recent book is titled Divided We Stand: The 2020 Elections and American Politics. The 2024 race has begun. It is a fight between two very old men.
After Biden's bad debate performance on Thursday, there has been off-the-record talk about replacing him on the Democratic ticket. Today it's going on the record.
— Rep. LLOYD DOGGETT (D-Texas) called on Biden to step aside — complete with an LBJ reference, via Erik Wasson: “I represent the heart of a congressional district once represented by LYNDON JOHNSON. Under very different circumstances, he made the painful decision to withdraw. President Biden should do the same.” More from the Texas Tribune’s Matthew Choi
— Rep. JIM CLYBURN (D-S.C.) told MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell that he “will support” VP KAMALA HARRIS if President Biden “were to step aside. (h/t NBC’s Gary Grumbach)
— Former House Speaker NANCY PELOSI (D-Calif.) on MSNBC: “I think it’s a legitimate question to say, is this an episode or is this a condition? When people ask that question, it’s completely legitimate — of both candidates.”
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More from Anthony Adragna: “Pelosi said it would be ‘essential’ for Biden to do ‘not one, maybe two’ unscripted interviews with journalists to demonstrate his capabilities without a teleprompter. ‘That would be a great thing for him,’ she said.”
— Sen. PETER WELCH (D-Vt.) lambasted the Biden campaign for its “dismissive attitude” towards questions about Biden’s age. “[T]hat’s the discussion we have to have,” he told Semafor’s Joseph Zeballos-Roig. “It has to be from the top levels of the Biden campaign to precinct captains in the southside of Chicago. … The campaign has raised the concerns themselves … So then to be dismissive of others who raise those concerns, I think it’s inappropriate.”
— Rep. MIKE QUIGLEY (D-Ill.) told CNN’s Kasie Hunt that Biden must “be honest with himself” about how his performance can impact Democrats’ chances of winning congressional races: “We have to be honest with ourselves that it wasn’t just a horrible night … I just want him to appreciate at this time just how much this impacts not just his race but all the other races coming in November.” More from Andrew Howard
— Former Rep. TIM RYAN (D-Ohio) called for Biden to step aside and allow Harris to become the nominee in an op-ed for Newsweek.
And on the state side ... CNN’s Jake Tapper reports that Democratic governors convened a call to discuss Biden’s debate performance and are pushing for a meeting with the White House to assuage concerns.
Key lines: “On the call, the governors expressed surprise that none of them had heard from Biden himself. There was a strong sentiment on the call that they needed to hear from the president directly. … The governors, one of the sources said, were worried about going public with their concerns out of fear that it would lead to Biden digging in further.”
