Prominent Democratic strategist says it’s too late to talk about replacing Biden as party goes into full panic mode
By isabelle // 2024-07-05
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The Democratic party is in full panic mode following Joe Biden’s dismal performance in last week’s presidential debates, but one prominent Democratic strategist is dismissing talks about replacing him as “irrelevant” now – while acknowledging it’s something that absolutely should have been discussed a year ago. David Axelrod wrote on X: “Reality check: @JoeBiden is the nominee of the Democratic Party, nominated by voters in primaries across the country. Unless the @POTUS, himself, decides to quit — which he won’t — that issue is settled.” “The discussion that is going on now was timely a year ago, when few wanted to have it. It’s largely irrelevant today,” he added. Axelrod, who was the chief strategist for the presidential campaigns of Barack Obama, was responding to the growing calls among his own party for the dazed and confused president to be replaced by someone who is mentally sound. It may not be an easy task when you consider some of the things liberals believe in, but there are surely numerous people who could inspire more confidence among their voter base than Biden. Those who still support him have been going into PR overdrive lately, doing their best to defend Biden and reassure voters he is still somehow capable of being the leader of the free world. Axelrod did his best to insist Trump isn’t inspiring Republicans in a panel discussion after the debate, but tellingly, he said that a Democrat who isn’t Biden would likely beat Trump. But what about Biden’s chances? “If, for whatever reason, there’s a change at the top of the ticket, you guys are in trouble with Donald Trump. Because the guy who was up there tonight is not a guy who’s going to inspire people,” he told CNN, perhaps not realizing that he was saying more about Biden with that comment than he was saying about Trump. His assessment of who was more inspiring in the debate was pretty far off the mark for someone who is supposed to be a campaign mastermind. A CNN flash poll that surveyed registered voters who watched the debate revealed that 67 percent think Trump won it and 33 percent believe Biden won it.

Biden's family is pushing him to stay in the race

Biden’s family met this weekend at Camp David, where they reportedly encouraged him to stay in the race and fight despite his humiliating performance in the debate. Reports by the AP indicate that his family has been blaming his staff for not preparing him properly. However, a competent president wouldn’t need to worry about being underprepared to defend his policies because reasonable and effective policies are easy for those with a sound mind to defend. The U.S. needs a president who is ready to have a lively and informed discussion of the important issues of the day whenever they come up, whether he is talking to other world leaders or his own staff. His family seems to be more worried about their own interests than alleviating pressure on a geriatric dementia sufferer, with Politico quoting sources saying that they “wanted the president to continue in the campaign rather than end his career with a calamitous debate performance against Trump, whom they all loathe." Not surprisingly, multiple reports claimed that his son Hunter and wife Jill were the most vocal in insisting he stay in the race.

Biden is unlikely to drop out

For now, it seems unlikely there will be a change on the presidential ticket unless Biden himself chooses to drop out. Many party leaders believe that scrambling to find a replacement at the last minute could lead to infighting that would effectively hand the presidency to Trump. However, it doesn’t bode well for his chances of winning when even media outlets and pundits that normally give him favorable coverage have been calling on him to step down, and 72% of registered voters say they now believe Biden lacks the mental and cognitive health needed to serve in the nation’s top office – seven points higher than those who said the same a few weeks ahead of the debate. Sources for this article include: TheHill.com TheHill.com FoxNews.com CBSNews.com
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