“We got to stop talking about this,” Michigan Rep. Debbie Dingell said on CNN’s State of the Union.
Biden has expressed confidence the 4,000 delegates picked by Democratic voters would vote for his reelection. To be sure, they would be free to vote for someone else — presumably Vice President Kamala Harris — if party leaders reached a consensus to replace Biden before they actually vote next month.
So far, that hasn’t happened. Still on board are Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, the leaders of the congressional Black and Hispanic causes, and leading progressives such as Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
But others, like Pelosi and Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar, suggested the issue is still open. Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet said flatly he didn’t think Biden would win.
Their comments underscored that Biden’s initial efforts — including an 22-minute interview with ABC’s George Stephanopoulos — have failed to ease concerns that his disastrous June 27 debate performance against Trump reflected deeper issues than a single “bad night,” as he contended.
One response that didn’t sit well was his suggestion he would be satisfied if he gave the campaign his all, even if he lost.
Most Democrats — indeed most politicians — think elections are about winning. Biden also seemed in self-denial about current polls, insisting several times there had been little change since the debate.
At a meeting with Democratic governors, Maine’s Janet Mills and New Mexico’s Michelle Lujan Grisham reportedly expressed concern over their states, which Biden won by 9 and 11 points in 2020. And Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, in an interview with USA TODAY, said that, while Biden could still carry her important swing state, “It’s precarious, but it can be done.”
Biden’s fitness to perform the presidency past his 86th birthday is a harder question to answer, though the White House published far more details about his health than Trump’s has.
Recent accounts, based on interviews with top officials and others who have observed him, describe a Biden who varies between being totally engaged and on top of the details to one who loses his train of thought, forgets the names of old friends and sometimes shortens appearances at the behest of aides.
These reports have fueled calls from some columnists, newspapers and Republicans for him to undergo cognitive testing like Trump claims without evidence to have had. “Look, I have a cognitive test every day,” Biden told Stephanopoulos.
The White House medical report issued after Biden’s physical examination last February said, “an extremely detailed neurological examination was again reassuring in that there were no findings that would be consistent with cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s or ascending lateral sclerosis.”
But if he stays in the race, Biden’s debate performance means he will remain under continual scrutiny, especially at high profile events like the convention and the second debate with Trump scheduled Sept. 10.
