The stern letter and subsequent wagon-circling from Democrats earlier in the week gave way to a fresh round of panic after more indicators shed additional light on President Biden's deep electoral peril. Some people within his own party are leaking internal polling about Biden, evidently hoping to sound the alarm about his vulnerability (and, quite possibly, their own). A new crop of Democrats went public with their requests that Biden step aside, as did actor George Clooney in a much-discussed New York Times op/ed. It was reported late yesterday that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will personally relay these 'concerns' to President Biden. But Bidenworld is having none of it, reiterating their stance spelled out on Monday in the aforementioned missive. Here's how CNN summarized that message last evening:
Chyron a moment ago
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) July 10, 2024
BIDEN AIDES TO CNN: DISCUSSION IS OVER, BIDEN IS RUNNING
That assertion may need to be directed right at Chuck Schumer. Many Democrats, like Nancy Pelosi and others, keep referencing ongoing and future discussions surrounding the president's status in the race. The president and his circle say there's nothing more to talk about, and he's going to be the nominee. In the game of chicken I keep talking about, the 'dump Biden' side seemed to blink first, but now they're back. Whether they can get Biden et al to blink is a very open question. Could they promise the First Lady lucrative sinecures if her husband stands down? Could they threaten not to protect the president's son if he doesn't? Would such bribes and warnings leak out, causing even more recriminations and drama? It's still a mess. The Biden camp is clearly engaged in a strategy of pushing forward by scheduling and teasing what might be seen as "major tests" like today's presser days in advance. Here's another one:
MONDAY: President Joe Biden to sit down with NBC News' Lester Holt in an exclusive one-on-one interview.
— Breaking News (@BreakingNews) July 10, 2024
Watch the interview in its entirety on NBC and NBC News NOW on Monday, July 15 at 9 p.m. ET. https://t.co/y5MaPWbGAa pic.twitter.com/f7Knhlh10S
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Notice this is a pre-taped sit-down that will occur earlier in the day, to then be excepted in the evening, then played in full during primetime. By the way, what happens if and when Jeffries, or anyone else, brings "concerns" to the president, and the president says, 'I hear all that, but we need to come together and stop sniping at each other. I'm not leaving. You go back and tell your people that they'd better get in line or they're going to make all of this much worse. They've done enough damage already.' What's the response? Do the wagons re-circle, at least until the inevitable next panic-inducing event? You'd better believe this analysis will be shared widely by the Biden crew to further demand that the party stop the sniping and bleeding:
For what it's worth (maybe not much right now, given the news), the polls appear to have stopped moving against Biden. If it was Election Day, with R+2 nationally R+3 in PA, Biden would be a normal polling miss away from winning the Electoral College https://t.co/cdR35ysBkE pic.twitter.com/gwV67cnxGp
— G Elliott Morris (@gelliottmorris) July 10, 2024
That may be wishful thinking for Dems, but it may also be correct. The notion that Republicans have any of this wrapped up or in the bag, with or without Biden on the ballot, is deeply misguided. A polling miss or a modest comeback could absolutely result in a Biden victory. But the president's brain trust might need to convince donors of that, too:
NEW: Four sources close to Biden’s reelection effort tell @NBCNews the campaign is suffering a major downshift in donations and officials are bracing for a seismic fundraising hit.
— Natasha Korecki (@natashakorecki) July 10, 2024
"The money has absolutely shut off."
w/@jonallendc @albamonica & team https://t.co/MpjlgF5I0O
Keep in mind that Biden et al have spent tens of millions in key states for months. They've been up on the air, almost unchallenged, and they've lost some altitude. A terrible ROI. Trump is now flush with cash, and his campaign is just about to start deploying their major spending. Overall, Democrats don't really seem to be taking any of this well. They are totally unaccustomed to a non-slavish, aligned press corps (although many journalists getting hostile with Democrats now are doing so in support of the wider cause, of course):
Speaker Pelosi tells me Biden can win
— Rachel Scott (@rachelvscott) July 10, 2024
She says she won’t make comments in the hallway about “the fate of our nation”
When I asked if Biden should run she said
“Am I speaking English to you? I’m not going to be making any statements about any of that right now in the hallway..” pic.twitter.com/8R1KsTuTc0
I'll leave you with two items -- first, a look at the Squad serving as somewhat-unlikely Biden allies in their steadfast support for him amid all of this (that first bullet point seems pretty important and familiar), and second, a big reason why numerous polls now show Biden in real trouble among younger voters. It's not just about his infirmity. It's about the consequences of Biden/Harris/Democratic policies:
Strange bedfellows or not strange at all?
— Daniel Marans (@danielmarans) July 10, 2024
Why Bernie, the Squad, and other prominent progressives have been among the more outspoken Biden defenders:
-- Uncertainty about Harris' higher electability
-- Resignation in face of Biden stubbornness
-- Lack of confidence in ability… pic.twitter.com/4mk4nMdbDr
Just out:
— Sarah Parshall Perry (@SarahPPerry) July 10, 2024
New polling from U.S. News of 2,040 young adults ages 18-34 (Gens Z and Millennial) indicates a full 70% of them say inflation & cost of living is the #1 issue as they consider candidates for president.
We're gonna need a bigger chart.
And a better president. https://t.co/pwyiAU1vIe
And incidentally, I remain highly skeptical that New York is even remotely "in play" this cycle (we did link to this story yesterday), but things must be dark enough in the internal numbers to trigger statements like this from figures like this:
— Antonio Delgado (@DelgadoforNY) July 10, 2024
For what it's worth, Gov. Hochul is said to be "furious" about this statement.
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