While the talking point appears to be making the rounds among Democratic insiders, columnists, commentators, and more, several big-name Democrats have refused to call on President Joe Biden to step down as the Democratic nominee.
Perhaps the most notable Democrats continuing to back the president include Vice President Kamala Harris and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA).
Immediately after Thursday’s debate with former President Donald Trump, Vice President Harris refused to accept CNN host Anderson Cooper’s thoughts on Biden’s performance, arguing that while he had a “slow start,” he also had a “strong finish.”
She then went on to push back when Cooper suggested that Biden’s performance disappointed his supporters and those watching.
“I’m not going to spend all night with you talking about the last 90 minutes when I’ve been watching the last three and a half years of performance,” she said.
Former House Speaker Pelosi spoke with MSNBC on Saturday and refused to accept any calls for Biden to step down. When asked about it, she made it clear that it was not her opinion.
“I don’t know who’s doing that,” Pelosi said. “I’m not doing it.”
Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) also backed Biden, calling out his fellow party members who he thinks need to “chill the f— out.”
“I refuse to join the Democratic vultures on Biden’s shoulder after the debate. No one knows more than me that a rough debate is not the sum total of the person and their record,” Fetterman said in a post on X.
Sen. Chris Coons (D-DE) also offered support for Biden, telling “This Week” Biden was the best bet to beat Trump.
“The stakes of this race couldn’t be higher, and the only Democrat who’s ever beaten Donald Trump is Joe Biden. He is our candidate for November, and he has the best shot to beat him,” he added.
Many pointed to Biden’s slow start and moments of lost thought or ramblings as signs of his age, something Trump has hammered him on for years.
Despite the reported week of debate prep that Biden did to face Trump, polls have shown that a majority of Americans think the former president won the debate.
Former Obama senior adviser and Democratic strategist David Axelrod said that the Democratic party was in panic mode after the debate concluded.
“I think there was a sense of shock, actually, at how he came out at the beginning of this debate. How his voice sounded. He seemed a bit disoriented. He did get stronger as the debate went on,” Axelrod said. “I think you’re going to hear discussions that I don’t know will lead to anything, but there are going to be discussions about whether he should continue.”
Still, Biden’s campaign is maintaining its course, saying that the debate on Thursday changed nothing for his reelection efforts.
“It’s a familiar story: Following Thursday night’s debate, the beltway class is counting Joe Biden out,” Biden campaign Chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a memo. “The data in the battleground states, though, tells a different story. On every metric that matters, data shows it did nothing to change the American people’s perception, our supporters are more fired up than ever, and Donald Trump only reminded voters of why they fired him four years ago and failed to expand his appeal beyond his MAGA base.”