Tipsheet

Biden Knows He's in Trouble. What Now?

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  July 03, 2024 1:45 PM

Joe Biden got smacked twice over the past week. He got drubbed by Donald Trump in the first debate last Thursday night and then slapped across the face with a belt by fellow Democrats and the party’s top donor base. The first thing he couldn’t do much about was his age and mental limitations. The second was entirely different, as the campaign, imploding in real time, opted to go into total denial mode by refusing to hear the concerns of top allies and peddling robust declarations attesting to the president’s health. It did nothing to calm the fears across the base, who have been clamoring for the president to step aside. 

CNN’s Harry Enten had something on that I’ll delve into later today. It does help Biden, but for now, the president knows that his presidency is finished if his numbers don’t improve, especially on the mentally fit questions. Reportedly, he told close allies that everything is on life support (via NYT):

President Biden has told a key ally that he knows he may not be able to salvage his candidacy if he cannot convince the public in the coming days that he is up for the job after a disastrous debate performance last week.

The president, who the ally emphasized is still deeply in the fight for re-election, understands that his next few appearances heading into the holiday weekend — including an interview scheduled for Friday with George Stephanopoulos of ABC News and campaign stops in Pennsylvania and Wisconsin — must go well. 

“He knows if he has two more events like that, we’re in a different place” by the end of the weekend, said the ally, referring to Mr. Biden’s halting and unfocused performance in the debate. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive situation. 

The conversation is the first indication to become public that the president is seriously considering whether he can recover after a devastating performance on the debate stage in Atlanta on Thursday. Concerns are mounting about his viability as a candidate and whether he could serve as president for another four years. 

A top adviser to Mr. Biden, who also spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the situation, said the president was “well aware of the political challenge he faces.” 

White House officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment. 

But here's the thing about that ABC News interview: it's not even live. It'll be broadcast in segments; there was no word if an unedited transcript would be released publicly. One could argue that the fraying of the cover-up regarding Biden's mental health might have started when the demand to release the audio tapes of the president being interviewed by Special Counsel Robert Hur, who was investigating Biden for mishandling classified materials, was denied. Why?

Hur made damning remarks about Biden's mental health that came with the stamp of approval by the Justice Department, notably that the DOJ wouldn't press charges, namely because Biden was old and had a bad memory. Biden's attorney, Bob Bauer, made the case for the tapes' disclosure in February, adding that what he heard wasn't described in the Hur report. The media and Democrats brushed off the mental health concerns, but that was when someone who wasn't a Biden staffer or party loyalist noted the president's state of mental decline. It all got exposed on June 27.

This realization that it could be over for Biden comes off developments that Barack Obama is again weighing in with top Democratic Party allies, expounding on how Joe Biden’s path to 270 has now been severely limited if not entirely shut, thanks to the Challenger-like explosion we saw with the president at the CNN debate. The chorus to push him out isn’t some psychobabble or coping exercises from within Democratic Party circles—it’s real and won’t go away. 

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It's inconceivable that anyone can win re-election when three-fourths of the country thinks you’re mentally incapable of leading it. OpenLabs, a progressive polling firm, did a survey within 72 hours of the debate, which was leaked yesterday. It was devastating, showing Biden taking a massive plunge across the board where he is now trialing Trump in all key battleground states. New Hampshire and Maine moved into Trump territory—this is a lefty firm. The other gun punch found that 40 percent of his 2020 supporters felt Biden needed to step aside. 

The other issue is who does better. The names floated as potential replacements also trail Trump in the polls. CNN’s Jamie Gangel offered some insight, adding that there could be a primary speed-dating-like event, with a couple of debates before the Democratic National Convention in August. That’s where the winner in Democrats Got Talent will be christened, and what a mess that would be.

The Biden White House tried to push against the Times' story, but not even their friends are buying it, though a great many of them are complicit in the cover-up of Biden's fried brain:

In the meantime, Trump is silent, probably watching the mayhem from a distance and reaping all the benefits in return.

Exit question: Does Biden survive the week?