Tipsheet

Even Democrats Realize How Catastrophic Thursday Night Was for Biden

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  February 09, 2024 10:45 AM

Thursday was not a good day for President Joe Biden, and it wasn't a good night for him either, as he held a disastrous time at the podium where he yelled at reporters for daring to ask questions about his memory. Special Counsel Robert Hur had declined to charge Biden for his mishandling of classified documents, given that Biden is too old. Almost from the start, people were wondering why Biden gave that press conference, and why he did so in the evening, close to 8pm. It turns out Biden's fellow Democrats weren't too thrilled with the prospect either.

As a Friday morning report from Axios mentioned:

Between the lines: Thursday's stunning events — Hur's description of Biden in the report, then Biden's shaky press conference — alarmed many senior Democrats, including former aides to Biden.

  • Some acknowledged that the report and Biden's appearance afterward could fuel doubts about his chance of being re-elected, and then serving as president until he's 86.
  • One House Democrat called Biden's verbal slip-ups "awful," and wondered why the president's staff allowed him to hold a press conference — then field reporters' shouted questions — "that late at night after a full day," instead of Friday morning, when he'd be "fresh."
  • Another former Biden White House official simply said: "Brutal."

It's curious that the term "allowed" is used here, or at least it should be, though Biden himself has been candid about how much he depends on his handlers, including and especially during his press conferences. 

Then there's how last April the president was caught using a cheat sheet of what reporters he could call on and their questions.

We're also past the point of how the situation merely "could fuel doubts about his chances of being re-elected," especially when he referred to Egypt's President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as the President of Mexico. Biden's even claimed to have met recently with dead leaders of France and Germany, with all those incidents occurring just this week.  

Recommended

Update: Manhattan DA Gives Recommendation on How to Proceed in Trump’s Hush Money Case Madeline Leesman
Georgia Appeals Court Abruptly Cancels Fani Willis Hearing Mia Cathell

Even the liberal mainstream media, including outlets particularly friendly to Democrats were freaking out, as Matt covered, while what spin the Biden team puts out there looks increasingly desperate.

Politico on Thursday night highlighted how "Age isn’t just a number. It’s a profound and growing problem for Biden." Many of the comments from Democrats were those looking to defend Biden. The piece did, however, quote Dan Sena, described as "a Democratic consultant who led the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in 2018." Sena is quoted in part as saying "I don’t envy the management position they’re constantly in," noting Biden's "ability to connect is one of his greatest strengths, but at the same time, it exposes some of his vulnerabilities."

The Playbook for Friday morning, "A day Biden world wishes it could forget," similarly highlighted remarks from Biden officials who are finding ways to spin Biden's gaffes, though it doesn't look like they're too happy about having to do so.

This campaign official did so using some strong language:

“The prevailing feeling is that they poured all these resources into investigating — and we were very cooperative — and he's the only special counsel investigation that’s ever not led to charges,” said one Democratic defender of the president. “And I think that there's probably some frustration around that that led to this over-torquing: ‘So let me just sh*t on [Biden] about memory!’ And also crossing a line that very few people would ever think about crossing when it comes to Beau.”

If Biden world seems defensive, it’s because they know Hur hit on an issue that the campaign has no real way to combat with ads or fancy strategy.

“The fact that he's a senior citizen is not going to go away,” the Biden campaign official told Playbook. “What I've said to my colleagues is that we all have to remind the American people that sometimes we forget sh*t.” 

One Democrat who has been willing to be critical of Biden's age is Rep. Dean Phillips of Minnesota, who also happens to be running as a primary challenger against Biden. He's not only reposted that NBC News poll showing bad news for Biden on the issue of his age and mental fitness, but also raised concerns about Biden's mental fitness. "But shame on all of you pretending everything is ok. You are leading us - and him - into a disaster, and you damn well know it," a post of his read.

And yet Phillips' response from Thursday night was somewhat delayed and even weak, as he also focused on going after former and potentially future President Donald Trump, who has been charged by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

At least the points about concerns with Biden still stand.