‘People Are Back To Being Angry at Biden’: Democratic Revolt Reappears After Lull Following Trump Shooting
The Trump rally shooting temporarily quieted the divides within the Democratic party about President Biden’s prospects — but concerns are already reappearing.
![AP/Susan Walsh](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwp.nysun.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2024%2F07%2Fbiden.jpg&w=1200&q=75)
Democrats’ concerns about President Biden’s election prospects are reemerging publicly — after President Trump’s near-assassination over the weekend put a pause in the growing calls within the Democratic party for Mr. Biden to call it quits.
In the latest sign of deep divides within the party, some House Democrats are pushing back on the Democratic National Committee’s plans to hold a virtual vote to lock Mr. Biden as the party’s nominee weeks before the convention takes place in August.
The DNC in May decided to hold a virtual roll call to confirm Mr. Biden due to concerns about an early ballot certification deadline in Ohio — which has now been resolved by Ohio legislation extending the deadline. In the fallout after Mr. Biden’s debate performance, a letter is circulating on Capitol Hill among Democrats expressing their “serious concerns about the DNC’s plan to hold a ‘virtual roll call’” to select the Democratic nominee as soon as this Sunday.
Citing the legislation extending the deadline, the letter, obtained by Axios and first noted by the New York Times, says there is now “no legal justification for this extraordinary and unprecedented action which would effectively accelerate the nomination process by nearly a month.”
Noting that the party is engaged in “careful consideration and debate” about how best to beat Mr. Trump, the Democrats note that the virtual vote would stifle debate and would be “prematurely shutting down any possible change in the Democratic ticket.”
“People are back to being angry at Biden,” one lawmaker told Axios, adding that the “‘replace Biden’ movement is back.”
In a private meeting with donors that highlighted the extent of Democrats’ concerns over Mr. Biden staying in the race, Representative Adam Schiff warned on Saturday that more than the White House was at stake.
“I think if he is our nominee, I think we lose,” Mr. Schiff said at the Saturday meeting ahead of the assassination attempt, the New York Times reported. “And we may very, very well lose the Senate and lose our chance to take back the House.”
In the two weeks following the presidential debate, a growing number of Democrats — even top leaders within the party — publicly or privately expressed concerns about Mr. Biden’s ability to beat Trump in November. In a letter addressed to congressional Democrats last week, Mr. Biden doubled down on his intent to stay in the race and expressed frustration about the headlines over his poor debate performance and calls to drop out.
“The question of how to move forward has been well-aired for over a week now. And it’s time for it to end,” he wrote on July 8.
Democrats continued to voice concerns in the days after the letter, with 19 representatives and one senator publicly calling on him to step aside as of Friday night. While the failed assassination attempt quickly quieted that debate, the momentum appears to be trickling back into a divided Democratic party.