Democrats creating path for Joe Biden to make ‘dignified’ exit
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Democrats are laying the groundwork for Joe Biden to make a “dignified” exit from the presidential race.
Following his disastrous performance against Donald Trump in Thursday night’s debate, members of the Biden family gathered in Camp David, the president’s country retreat, where they are expected to discuss his future.
One Democrat official said the US president could not be “dragged off stage”, and needed relatives and trusted advisers to convince him to “walk off” on his own terms.
Senior Democrats and friends of Mr Biden pushed for this conversation to happen over the weekend.
However, his family are said to have urged him to stay in the race when they met on Sunday, while expressing frustration with aides who prepared him for the debate.
Mr Biden was expected to spend Sunday and Monday surrounded by members of his immediate family, including Jill Biden, the first lady, and their granddaughters, Finnegan and Natalie Biden.
Among those pushing Mr Biden to keep fighting was his son, Hunter, who wants to repair the damage done to his reputation by Thursday’s debate, the New York Times reported.
A Biden campaign source downplayed the significance of the gathering, insisting the stay had been planned some time in advance, adding that discussions about his re-election bid would be “informal or an afterthought”.
However, Mr Biden has previously said he would not run a political campaign without the support of his family. “We do everything by family meetings,” he said in 2019.
The 81-year-old president repeatedly mumbled, veered off topic and froze while speaking in front of an estimated 50 million viewers during the first showdown between Mr Biden and Trump hosted by CNN on Thursday.
Mr Biden made another gaffe over the weekend as he sought to calm the nerves of anxious donors at a campaign reception in New York.
The US president claimed Trump referred to America’s war dead as “losers” and “suckers” when he cancelled a visit to Aisne-Marne American Cemetery, near Paris, in 2018.
Mr Biden mistakenly said the cemetery was located in Italy – remarks that were later corrected on the official White House transcript.
One Democratic official said Mr Biden’s sister, Valerie Biden Owens, who ran his campaigns for office for 40 years, and his long-time friend and confidante, Ted Kaufman, should urge him to “walk off on his own” with “dignity”.
“This is not about him submitting to the will of others yelling at him that he failed. Joe Biden is too proud for that argument. He will not be dragged off the stage,” the individual, who is not part of the Biden campaign or White House, told Axios.
“The goal is to let him walk off the stage… He got rid of Trump; helped prepare America through his legislation for the future; and, under his tenure, a generation of new Democrats have emerged.”
Democratic donors, strategists and politicians have all urged Mr Biden to drop out of the race for a younger candidate who could block Trump from reclaiming the White House in November.
Michael LaRosa, a former press secretary to the first lady, said the Biden family would seek to “defy gravity and defeat the doubters” instead of bending to outside pressure.
“They’re almost in an identical situation from 1987 when they were forced out by the press and the polls and the pundits,” he told The Telegraph, referring to Mr Biden’s first presidential run.
“And I think they learned long ago through that formative experience that they weren’t going to let outsiders push them out of the race... their natural instinct is not to let their hand be forced.”
In an email to supporters at the weekend, the president’s campaign claimed he was the only Democrat capable of beating Trump.
It published polling that shows Mr Biden performs better against Trump than potential successors – but still loses to the Republican in a head-to-head match-up, by 45 per cent to 48 per cent.
Gavin Newsom, the California Governor, took 44 per cent to Trump’s 47 per cent, and Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Governor, took 44 per cent to Trump’s 46 per cent, according to the data.
Nate Silver, a prominent pollster, noted that the other candidates performed marginally worse despite having a much smaller profile than Mr Biden. “That this is the best talking point they can come up with indicates how poor their argument is,” he said.
Chandler West, a deputy director of photography under Mr Biden, said his former boss’ debate performance was not a one-off and called for him to step down.
“I know many of these people and how the White House operates. They will say he has a ‘cold’ or just experienced a ‘bad night,’” Mr West, who left the White House in May 2022, wrote on Instagram.
“But for weeks and months, in private, they have all said what we saw [Thursday] night — Joe is not as strong as he was just a couple of years ago.”
The campaign email labelled Mr Biden’s critics a “bedwetting brigade” made up of “self-important Podcasters”, and “MAGA [Make America Great Again] uncles”.
“Joe Biden is going to be the Democratic nominee, period,” it added.
On Saturday afternoon, the Biden campaign sent out an endorsement message to supporters from a veteran Democratic strategist – hours after he predicted the US president would drop out of the election race.
James Carville, the mastermind behind Bill Clinton’s 1992 election victory, said he was surprised to see a text go out in his name and claimed it was not cleared by his team.
Mr Carville had predicted the end of Mr Biden’s campaign after his head-to-head with Trump earlier that day, having previously called for a different candidate to take on the Republican.
“It’s kind of weird to see your name go out to half-a-million people,” he said, adding that the fundraising text “didn’t bother me as much as the debate”.
The Democrats’ “big beasts”, including Barack Obama, the former president, and the former House of Representatives speaker Nancy Pelosi, have been outwardly supportive of Mr Biden.
Notably, they have avoided making public criticisms of the US president – possibly hoping he will be convinced to stand aside after taking stock of his campaign this weekend.
05:39 PM BST
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05:35 PM BST
No other Democrat can beat Trump, says Biden campaign
No other Democrat can beat Donald Trump in November’s presidential election, Joe Biden’s campaign has said.
The US president’s team sent out an email to supporters dismissing suggestions that the 81-year-old could step aside for a younger successor, saying they would end up with a weaker candidate.
It published polling that shows Mr Biden performs better against Trump than those whose names have been floated as a potential replacement since his disastrous debate performance on Thursday.
However, it shows that Mr Biden still loses to the Republican in a head-to-head match-up, by 45 per cent to 48 per cent.
05:24 PM BST
Pictured: Joe Biden walking from Marine One to Air Force One
04:35 PM BST
Biden grandchildren flock to Camp David to surround president after debate disaster
Joe Biden has arrived at Camp David surrounded by his family amid reports that they have gathered to discuss the future of his reelection campaign.
The US president arrived on Air Force One at Hagerstown Regional Airport Saturday, near to the president’s country retreat, flanked by Jill Biden, the first lady, and their two granddaughters, Finnegan and Natalie Biden.
A White House official said Saturday that Mr Biden had pre-planned time at Camp David on Sunday and Monday for a family photo taken by Annie Leibovitz. The official disputed the premise of an NBC News report suggesting that he was holding talks with his family over the future of his bid for a second term as president.
It comes as the US president admitted Saturday that he “didn’t have a great night” during the first round of presidential debates earlier this week, which he was roundly perceived to have lost.
04:07 PM BST
Biden critics dismissed as ‘bedwetting brigade’
Joe Biden’s campaign appears to have dismissed critics of his disastrous debate performance as a “bedwetting brigade”, writes Benedict Smith, US reporter.
An email sent out on Saturday night dismissed suggestions that the US President could step aside for a younger candidate, and said potential replacements were less likely to win the election.
“Actual voters” saw the showdown with Donald Trump, in which Mr Biden mumbled, veered off-topic and lost his train of thought, in a different light to political obsessives, it added.
“If you’re like me, you’re getting lots of texts or calls from folks about the state of the race after Thursday,” the email begins.
“Maybe it was your panicked aunt, your MAGA [Make America Great Again] uncle, or some self-important Podcasters.”
03:35 PM BST
Trump campaign hopes Biden stays in race as ex-president changes tone
Donald Trump hailed Joe Biden as his most dangerous rival in a speech on Friday, in what some see as a bid to stave off having the president replaced with a more formidable opponent.
At a rally in Virginia on Friday, Trump revelled in the criticism of President Biden’s shambolic performance in the first presidential debate, seeing it as acknowledgement of his victory.
He mocked the president’s apparent overpreparation for the event, saying, “He studied so hard that he didn’t know what the hell he was doing.”
Read the full piece here.
02:39 PM BST
Top Democrats panicking over Biden’s debate performance
Jaime Harrison, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, held a Saturday afternoon call with dozens of influential Democrat party members about Joe Biden’s to address concerns about Joe Biden’s disastrous performance in the first round of presidential debates.
He did not acknowledge Biden’s weak showing Thursday night or the avalanche of criticism that followed.
Multiple committee members on the call, most granted anonymity to talk about the private discussion, described feeling like they were being gaslighted — that they were being asked to ignore the dire nature of the party’s predicament. The call, they said, may have worsened a widespread sense of panic among elected officials, donors and other stakeholders.
Instead, the people said, Harrison offered what they described as a rosy assessment of Biden’s path forward. The chat function was disabled and there were no questions allowed.
01:58 PM BST
New York Times calls on Joe Biden to step down
The New York Times has called on Joe Biden to stand down from the presidential race and relinquish the Democratic nomination to a “stronger candidate” who would have a better chance of beating Donald Trump.
In an article by its editorial board, the Times accused Mr Biden of a “reckless gamble” in continuing his reelection bid after his disastrous appearance on the debate stage with Trump on Thursday night.
Mr Biden repeatedly struggled to deliver his lines, made factual mistakes and froze in response to moderator questions during the debate.
Read the full piece here.
01:47 PM BST
Joe Biden tells donors he won more voters than Trump during disastrous debate
Joe Biden has told donors that his debate performance converted more undecided voters than Donald Trump.
The US president admitted Saturday that he “didn’t have a great night” during the first round of presidential debates, which he was roundly seen to have lost.
However, he claimed he had won over more voters than his Republican rival because people remembered the “bad things” which happened during Mr Trump’s presidency.
“Research during the debate shows us converting more undecided voters than Trump did, in large part because of his conduct on Jan 6,” Mr Biden said Saturday at a fundraiser at New Jersey governor Phil Murphy’s home.
“I didn’t have a great night, but I’m going to be fighting harder,” Mr Biden added.
12:05 PM BST
European allies hope Democrats replace Biden to prevent Trump victory
European allies have expressed anxiety that Joe Biden’s poor debate performance could mean victory for Donald Trump and reduction in US support for Ukraine.
The 81-year-old US president lost his train of thought and stumbled through Thursday night’s debate, which contained relatively little discussion of foreign policy.
Mr Biden accused Trump of cosying up to dictators such as Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-Un, and boasted of bringing together an alliance of 50 nations to back Kyiv in the war with Russia.
Read the full piece here.
11:11 AM BST
US Supreme Court’s slow pace on immunity makes Trump trial before election unlikely
Donald Trump’s bid for criminal immunity from prosecution for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss is set to be decided on Monday by the US Supreme Court.
But however it rules, the court already has helped the former president in his effort to avoid trial before the November 5 election.
The ruling from the court, whose 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Mr Trump, will be released 20 weeks after he sought relief from the justices.
The timeline of the ruling likely does not leave enough time for Special Counsel Jack Smith to try Mr Trump on the federal four-count indictment obtained last August and for a jury to reach a verdict before voters head to the polls.
“The amount of delay that has resulted has made it almost impossible to get the case to trial before the election,” said George Washington University law professor Randall Eliason, a former federal prosecutor. “The court should have treated it with much more urgency than it did.”
10:33 AM BST
Joe Biden given one week to stand down
Joe Biden has been told he has a week to win over Democrats or they will move to oust him after a disastrous performance in the first presidential debate, writes Tony Diver and Ben Riley-Smith.
Party donors and congressmen called on Mr Biden to abandon his run for re-election to the presidency after he fluffed his lines repeatedly and at one point froze completely during the first head-to-head debate of the 2024 election campaign.
In a shaky, hoarse voice, the 81-year-old launched attacks on Donald Trump and defended his policy record, pausing several times to repeat his sentences or correct himself.
Read the full piece here.
10:12 AM BST
Biden reassures big-money donors after debate debacle
Joe Biden attended a triple-header of campaign fundraisers Saturday, seeking to reassure high-dollar donors he can still win reelection in November despite a debate performance that sparked panic among many Democrats.
Accompanying the US president at the fundraisers in New York and New Jersey was First Lady Jill Biden, who has fiercely defended her 81-year-old husband amid calls for him to step aside.
The president is facing a wave of doubts following Thursday night’s debate against Republican rival Donald Trump, after he frequently stumbled over his words and lost his train of thought - exacerbating fears about his age and mental acuity.
09:55 AM BST
‘Joe is the only person for the job,’ says Jill Biden
Jill Biden was right at her husband’s side Saturday as they exited Air Force One to head for a pair of campaign stops at luxurious vacation homes on Long Island. And she got straight to the point when it was her turn to introduce the president at a tony fundraiser.
“Joe isn’t just the right person for the job. He’s the only person for the job,” she declared.
The first lady also told donors, “Anyone can tell you what they want to do, but Joe Biden can tell you what he’s done with his judgment, his experience, and his relationships with leaders across the globe.”
The first lady is trying to rally support for her husband after a dreadful performance in Thursday’s presidential debate created fresh worries about President Joe Biden’s age and his ability to compete in November’s election and to serve another four years.
