Chris Murphy: Biden needs to get out with the people and do it soon

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) said Sunday that President Joe Biden needs to go unscripted with American voters this week.

And if the president can’t do that — Murphy said Biden has a decision to make about "what’s best for the country.”

“I'm going to vote for Joe Biden, but the president needs millions of votes,” Murphy said in an interview with Dana Bash on CNN’s "State of the Union." “I think the president needs to make some moves this week to put himself out there in a position to answer those questions. And if he can't do that, then of course, he's going to have to make a decision about what's best for the country and what's best for the party."

Murphy, a strong Biden ally, adds onto the growing list of Democrats seemingly unsatisfied with the results after Biden sat for an interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos in an attempt to repair damage from a disastrous debate. Shortly thereafter, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) offered similar sentiments on NBC's "Meet the Press," saying: "The interview didn't put concerns to rest. No single interview was going to do that."

Voters in America still have questions after the interview, Murphy said, and this is going to be a “vital week” for Biden, where he should be doing unscripted town halls and press conferences..

“This can't be a business-as-usual week. I think that Friday night’s interview did not answer all the questions that people in my state have,” Murphy said. “They want to believe that this is still the old Joe Biden, but they need to see more from the president. And I hope that we see that this week."

The Connecticut Democrat praised Biden and acknowledged that Biden “still has to run the country" while doing these campaign events. But at the same time, he said the “clock is ticking” for Biden to restore confidence in voters. Murphy added that he hasn’t spoken to Biden since the debate.

Murphy sidestepped answering whether Biden should remain at the top of the Democratic ticket, instead just confirming he supports Biden. He also declined to answer whether Vice President Kamala Harris should replace Biden on the ticket — saying it isn’t a “necessary or helpful conversation” right now.

“If the president is unwilling to do the things necessary to restore voters' confidence or answer voters' questions, then of course he has a decision to make about what the best path forward is for the country,” Murphy said. “But if he answers those questions this week, there's no doubt that he can win this race.”

Murphy also said reports of Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.) organizing a group of Democratic senators to discuss Biden’s path forward came from “a lot of anxiety in the country and in the party today."

“That's because the stakes are so high,” Murphy said. “That's because Donald Trump presents an existential threat to democracy.”