It’s entertaining as anything watching Democrats plot to oust Joe Biden, but reality must be settling in by now—the Big Guy is here to stay in 2024. Yes, large swaths of the party want Joe to go, but the planning phase has been disastrous. Operation Market Garden succeeded more than this plot to boot the president following his disastrous debate on June 27. At least in 1944, Allied forces could take some of the bridges in Holland during that failed operation to end the war by Christmas.
In this saga, everyone seems to agree Joe should go. Still, no one wants to fire the first shot, not even Barack Obama, who reportedly works behind the scenes to relay the electoral concerns facing his former vice president. Politico mentioned that this gathering of “super friends,” including some heavyweight names, will make a last push to get Biden to drop out. This development comes after the president’s NATO presser, which was a trainwreck but whose damage wasn’t significant enough to make the case for Biden’s immediate departure ironclad, much to the frustration of the party, especially swing state Democrats:
Some Democrats we spoke with dreaded the likelihood that Biden aides would spin the night as a big win that showed a president in full command of his faculties. And so, the Biden detractors will regroup. Many lawmakers had drafted statements and were waiting to release them after the NATO summit and press conference wrapped up. Will they release them today?
What’s more, Democratic leaders at some point will also have to speak to Biden about the situation. How frank will they be?
“The Super Friends are assembling,” said a House Democrat who did not believe Biden's performance yesterday changed anything. “There’s a group of people who are going to go make their case to whomever they can get to at the White House that he needs to step aside and we’re going to get our asses kicked if he doesn’t.”
In an “ideal world,” this “Super Friends” delegation, the member said, would be Senate Majority Leader CHUCK SCHUMER, President Pro Tempore PATTY MURRAY, House Minority Leader HAKEEM JEFFRIES, speaker emerita NANCY PELOSI and JIM CLYBURN.
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Some of these people have expressed their support for the president, especially Clyburn. Schumer’s office had to do some damage control regarding being content with a replacement candidate, which leaked earlier this week. Still, there is no doubt he has concerns, especially with New York now reportedly veering into battleground state territory during this cycle.
Unless someone does something to move the needle, like providing the data showing Biden can’t win, nothing is going to change. Also, the president says he disregards polling, which partially explains this poll denialism that’s also given Democrats heartburn.
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