As rumors continued to swirl about whether Joe Biden should step aside from his reelection effort, congressional Democrats planned a meeting that they hoped would be favorable for the president. However, they were not able to unite the whole party behind the commander-in-chief, which was the White House’s ultimate goal as they tried to convince voters and donors that he would be the nominee, no ifs, ands, or buts about it.
Per Axios, a group of House Democrats in battleground states held a “despondent gathering” where there were actual tears from people, and they weren’t for Biden.
One shell-shocked lawmaker who was present at the meeting would offer only one word to characterize it: “Intense.”
Another described the mood as “pretty much unanimous” that Biden has “got to step down,” adding, “There were actual tears from people, and not for Biden.”
During the full caucus meeting, there were people defending the president, as well as those who were open and honest about their concerns about him taking on former President Trump.
One of the House Democrats said this, per Axios:
Most of our caucus is still with him … meaning he’ll stay in. Which sucks for our country.
Rep. Lloyd Doggett (D-TX), who called on Biden to step aside, had this to say about the letter that Biden sent to congressional Democrats:
He clearly did a preemptive effort to try to discourage any questions … with this letter.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-TN) was asked if he was on the same page as Biden following the meeting; he responded by saying:
No. We’re not even in the same book.
Dems exiting their meeting on Biden saying not only are they not on the same page, ‘we are not even in the same book’ pic.twitter.com/n2QEeJinzE
— Jon Michael Raasch (@JMRaasch) July 9, 2024
Although there are still some skeptics, the majority of the party seems to have rallied behind Biden so far.
The reality is that if the Democrats want a younger and more vibrant candidate as the nominee, they will need to move fast, as the August Democrat National Convention is approaching. That will likely be their final opportunity to replace Biden.
The news about whether Biden will be ousted or not is changing rapidly, so it could be that one day, we hear most of the Democrats are still supporting Biden and the next, they will jump ship. But as of Tuesday, the majority have his back, giving the president confidence to head into the convention as the nominee.
It’s important to point out that Biden is not receiving pushback from far-left lawmakers such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), Ilhan Omar (D-MN), or Ayanna Pressley (D-MA), but instead from the moderate Democrats, especially those in swing districts with tough reelection bids coming in November.
AOC says she is backing Joe Biden.
‘The matter is closed,’ she said. ‘Joe Biden is our nominee.’ pic.twitter.com/HVCluO2Ahh
— Jon Michael Raasch (@JMRaasch) July 8, 2024
Although the meeting was a win for Biden and his team because they have the backing of the majority in the Democrat caucus, he will still be in trouble if his donations dry up.
The Biden campaign should be focused more on mega-donors who have turned their backs on the president and want answers or who have moved past that point and want him to drop out before they’ll even consider resuming donating to the head of the party.
