As I wrote the other day, “The thing about a dam is, once it breaks there’s not a whole lot you can do about it but get out of the way and wait for everything to come out.” Well it looks like that’s exactly what’s happening as the dam that’s been protecting President Joe Biden for the past three and a half years is finally bursting.
A tectonic shift appears to have taken place:
At least 25 House Democrats are preparing to call for the 81-year-president to end his re-election bid in the wake of his disastrous debate against former President Donald Trump, Reuters reported Tuesday, citing a House Democratic aide.
Centrist House Democrats in competitive districts – the lawmakers most at risk of losing their seats in November – were so alarmed by Biden’s infirmed appearance in last week’s showdown with the 78-year-old presumptive Republican nominee that they are considering writing a letter to Biden, according to the outlet.
Reuters is reporting that 25 House Democrats are preparing to call on Biden to step down if he appears shaky in coming days. https://t.co/OUYP1cSWM6 pic.twitter.com/Rey0h248D5
— Yashar Ali 🐘 (@yashar) July 3, 2024
As we noted, Democrat lawmakers are increasingly concerned about Biden’s strategy (or lack thereof) following his disastrous debate performance.
Related: Report: Meeting of House Democrats Devolves Into Biden Grievance Fest—There’s a ‘Donkey in the Room’
Both Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX) and Rep. Jared Golden (D-ME) went on record Tuesday opining that the octogenarian president should drop out of the race.
Time to walk away
Another House Democrat Jumps Ship on Biden: ‘Trump Is Going to Win. And I’m Okay With That.’
Lawmaker Becomes First Elected Democrat to Call for Biden to Drop Out of the Race
Senate Democrats are concerned, too, as West Virginia’s Joe Manchin reportedly had to be talked off the ledge:
In the Senate, it was revealed that centrist Joe Manchin needed to be pulled back from the brink as he prepared to become the first Biden ally to call for him to quit on one of the Sunday news shows.
‘Nobody wants to be the first one to knife Julius Caesar,’ a party insider said about Manchin’s predicament.
Dem Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (D-WA) also appeared to be jumping off the sinking ship, telling a local outlet, “The truth I think, is that Biden is going to lose to Trump.”
“I know that’s difficult, but I think the damage has been done by that debate,” she added, although she didn’t directly say that Biden should drop out.
The news that so many former Democrats are considering cutting bait has got to be reeling the Biden campaign, and it’s unclear how long he can survive this revolt. For now, he and his team are remaining defiant and vociferously stating that the compromised candidate will stay in the race, but at this point, that seems like a wildly unrealistic goal.
